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A simple supply and demand analysis suggests that normal market forces cause prices to increase when demand increases:
The bottom line is that, after a demand increase, not everyone can get what they want at the old market price. Either the price can increase, which serves both to encourage firms to produce more and to [...]
Tags: Buyer Beware · Econ 101 · Markets
One of the first things I did in 2012 was find a $10 bill on the sidewalk in Harvard Square. I decided that this was a good sign for the new year, so I tweeted about it shortly after midnight. In retrospect, I should have known better, since I pretty quickly got the [...]
Tags: Behavioral Econ · Books · Markets
Another day, another case of firefighters letting a house burn because the owner didn’t subscribe to fire service. I wrote about this before in the context of pay-for-service ambulances, and what I’m beginning to realize is that, well, everyone is wrong. Here’s a summary of what I’ve been hearing on the fire department [...]
Tags: Buyer Beware · Markets · Policy
Q: What do selling kidneys, tossing dwarfs, and eating horses have in common?
A: I don’t know- let’s ask Professor Al Roth.
Unfair. Undignified. Inappropriate, unprofessional, distasteful—and most of all, repugnant.
To the wonder and surprise of Alvin E. Roth, a Harvard economist, these harsh words are often hoisted to describe an important task of his: [...]
Long time readers may recall the think tank cartoon I posted a while back:
The Heritage Foundation is on the conservative side of this brawl, and I must say that it’s amazing how all of the objective, fact-based research that comes out of these sorts of organizations specifically supports the conservative ideology. (From what I’ve [...]
