Michael Lewis: The Big Short
A great journalistic narrative. It reads like a thriller.
A Short Note On Signalling
In economics, signalling refers to the idea that one party credibly conveys some information about itself to another party. In evolutionary biology signalling has a more general meaning.
Foraging For Pleasure
In addition to a hunger for food (and sex) humans appear to have an insatiable hunger for information. And so as their hunger for food is more easily met people have moved from consuming food to consuming concepts.
Skills Obsolescence
A personal tale of skills obsolescence.
Risk Management Lessons From The Ash Cloud
There are some lessons to be learned from the chaos caused by the recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland.
Hotelling's Law in Istanbul
Istanbul's fashion district provides an extreme example of clustering.
A Short Note On The Economics of the Performing Arts
I am one of the lucky few to snatch a ticket for Peter Stein's 12-hour production of Dostoyevsky's The Demons. The ticket price gives an interesting insight into the economics of the performing arts.
Crisis? What Crisis?
In the aftermath of the financial crisis there was a lot of talk of a crisis in economic science. The Annual Review in Economics proves that the contrary is the case.
When Labour Costs Are Low
Bollywood movies provide cross-country evidence for Baumol's cost disease in the performing arts.
Tall People Live Better Lives On Average
That's from a recent paper entitled "Life at the Top: The Benefits of Height" by economists Angus Deaton and Raksha Arora.
The Wealth of Nations
Of course I’d like to have more purchasing power and pay lower taxes and I too disagree with some of the ways the government of my country allocates its budget. But there is a different form of private wealth which depends on the public infrastructure of the country you live in.
The Economics of Hotel Prices
The primary determinants of hotel room rates are location and room size. Of course the more expensive hotels do their best to hide this.