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Tag Archives: Economics
Do infants have preferences or utility functions?
This seemingly intractable question is easy enough to answer if you are an academic economist. All you need do is simply assume your answer is yes. But is this any way to search for truth? Doesn’t the economic approach fail … Continue reading
Why isn’t the Crimean peninsula worth defending?
She is certainly worth stealing and taking by force, which is what the Russian Federation appears to be doing as we write up this pithy blog post … If you were an advisor to Oleksandr Turchynov, the new (and unelected) prime minister … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Crimea, Current Affairs, Economics, Laws of War, Strategy
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What is the optimal speed limit on toll roads?
Is it 80 mph? 90? 100? You tell me …
Self-explanatory?
This is a “GDP map” of the US in which each State is renamed for a country with a similar level of economic output or GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Although GDP is an imperfect and crude measure of economic prosperity, this … Continue reading
The economics of Christmas
How “inefficient” is Christmas and the tradition of gift-giving generally? According to this paper, The deadweight loss of Christmas, published in the prestigious American Economics Review 20 years ago this month (and from which the figure above is taken), holiday gift-giving … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cheap talk, Christmas, Deadweight Loss, Economics, Gifts, scientism
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The law and economics of Star Trek
Several “Star Trek scholars”–including Matthew Yglesias, Rick Webb, and Joshua Gans–have recently speculated about the economics of Star Trek. How does the economy (and legal system, we would add) work in the world of Star Trek? Does the United Federation of … Continue reading
Is economics a science?
Economists Noah Smith (“A few words about math”) and Bryan Caplan (“Economath fails the cost benefit test”) have recently presented powerful and persuasive critiques of the over-use of mathematics in economics, but prior probability thinks they both miss the larger question, … Continue reading
