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"Rising" Inflation
Last Monday, I was going to make a delicious meal of Summer Carbonaro from the Half-Baked Harvest cookbook. I needed something else for...
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Oct 10, 2021
BACONomics: Biden’s plan to reduce food price inflation
Last week I wrote about how Russia is trying to keep food price inflation down (within Russia) by implementing export tariffs on goods...
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Oct 4, 2021
Inflation and Russian Export Taxes + Orange Cake with Sunflower Oil
It's hard to turn into the news and not read about food price inflation. The question now is what, if anything, should be done about it....
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Jul 24, 2021
What's up with (Micro)chips?
This may be a little silly but bear with me… Imagine that you own a bakery, and you specialize in chocolate chip cookies. You make some...
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Feb 28, 2021
Are Imports Bad? The Case of the Blueberry (+ blueberry muffins)
Imports – goods produced in other countries but sold “here” (in this case that’s the U.S.). They come up in the news a lot – are they...
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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...
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Aug 23, 2020
One a penny, two a penny, … where are all the pennies? (Hot Cross Buns)
Where did all of the money go? If you’ve been road tripping recently… or gone to pick up a quick bite at a fast food restaurant, you’ve...
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Jul 25, 2020
COVID-19: Lumber, Pools, NYC Suburbs, & Gingerbread Houses: Unexpected Winners during a Pandemic
What did everyone do when the pandemic first hit and people were spending hours and hours at home? At first, the baking started (see...
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Jul 12, 2020
COVID-19: Maryland Crabs versus Maine Lobsters: Two crustaceans, Two different problems
I read this really interesting article in the NY Times about the Maine lobster industry. The lobster market is struggling due to a...
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Jun 27, 2020
Collusion in the Milk Market + Tres Leches Cake
Just a couple of weeks ago, the chicken industry was charged with price fixing. According to the charges, executives were texting each...
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Jun 14, 2020
COVID-19: How COVID-19 gave an unexpected boost to Thai Rice Exports (+ Rice Pudding)
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on many industries. It has also been a boon to others, such as Amazon, Netflix, Zoom, Delivery Services,...
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May 22, 2020
COVID-19: Meat prices are high but farmers are hurting (+Texas Kolaches)
We’ve talked about how the increased demand for flour and yeast led to shortages in grocery stores as people stocked up on staples and...
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Apr 24, 2020
COVID-19: Negative Oil Prices & Girl Scout Cookies
When I was in elementary school, my mom agreed to be the “cookie mom.” What that meant was that all of the Girl Scout cookies for my...
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Apr 22, 2020
COVID-19: Foreign Labor & Strawberries
Nothing beats biting into a strawberry and having the juices drip down your chin. But have you ever stopped to think about where these...
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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...
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Mar 5, 2020
The impact of Brexit on … Oranges? And Orange Scones
I’m sure you’ve read about Brexit. You may have heard that many people think it was a bad idea. In the UK, a lot of people think it was...
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Dec 1, 2019
Price Spikes and Oat Milk
By now you have probably seen a new milk substitute listed at your local coffee shop. Next to almond, soy, and coconut milk you can now...
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Aug 27, 2019
Honey: Shifts in Demand AND Supply
Honey prices are on the rise. The reason why is a fun one for an economics class. Not one, but TWO things, are happening simultaneously....
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Jun 9, 2019
Banana Bread and Trade Wars
Most of the time when I start these posts, I have an econ lesson in mind first. This time, it’s the recipe I desperately want to share...
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Mar 9, 2019
Croissants and Butter
You may wonder how prices in one market affect the prices in others. For example, you often hear that OPEC is reducing their oil...
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