sc
Complements, Substitutes, and Giving Thanks
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There is zero pressure to frantically search for presents, and it is an excellent opportunity to...
top of page
sc
Mar 14, 2021
Matilda Cake Scene: Economics is Everywhere
Matilda by Roald Dahl was my all-time favorite book growing up. I loved listening to teachers read it, learning to read from it, and even...
sc
Feb 5, 2021
INA GARTEN was an Econ Major!
“What can you do with an economics major?” I frequently get that question from students who are trying to decide what undergraduate...
sc
Jan 31, 2021
Cookie Dough Cheesecake and Asymmetric Information
The Cheesecake Factory is huge. Not only does it have the longest menu in history, its restaurants -- which are often two stories -- are...
sc
Jan 8, 2021
The Magic of Chocolate Chips
Have you ever thought about why there are chocolate chips at the grocery store? I mean really stopped to think about it. There you are,...
sc
Jul 2, 2020
“Bang for Buck” and Regular vs. Instant Grits
The movie “My Cousin Vinny” has a fan club of lawyers and judges who love to quote the movie and use it as an example of effective...
sc
Apr 17, 2020
COVID-19: Crossing State Borders & Homemade Vanilla Extract
One of the first lessons in an economics class is “People respond to incentives.” This concept is quite intuitive. When you were a child...
sc
Aug 27, 2019
Thinking on the Margin & Birthday Cake
Marginal thinking is a key concept in economics, but it is often one that is misunderstood. Most of our thinking is in fact on the...
sc
Jul 14, 2019
Opportunity Cost, Economic Profit, and Opening a Bakery
Overhead at a table of economists: Susan: “They’re making a profit every month” Mike: “Accounting or Economic profit?” Table: Erupts in...
sc
Jul 11, 2019
The Market for Lemon Meringue Pie
George Akerlof won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2001 for his research on information asymmetries in markets. His seminal paper on the...
sc
Jul 4, 2019
Fireworks Cookies and Public Goods
Happy 4th of July! There are all kinds of goods. Things you buy and only you eat. Things you buy and you share. Things you buy and...
sc
Apr 14, 2019
Salt and Sunk Costs
“You added a cup of salt instead of a cup of sugar to the batter??” I’ll keep names anonymous, but I still remember hearing a friend tell...
sc
Apr 4, 2019
Pink Icing and Diminishing Marginal Benefit
I’ve been baking for forever. My sister and I used to make brownies for our swim team coaches in elementary school, and by high school I...
bottom of page