What Few of Us Know About the Phantom of the Opera

Looking at 35 years of Phantom of the Opera, we see the cost and revenue that all businesses need to recognize.

Butter, Buildings, and Baumol’s Disease

New Chicago Fed head Austan Goolsbee and a U. of Chicago colleague try to solve the mystery of lagging construction industry productivity.

The Data That Keep Track of Us at Work

When worker performance is monitored through data collection of what we do and how long it takes, productivity increases but perverse incentives result too.

How and why does UPS get my package to me so fast?

Occasionally, I have asked the UPS man who is always so gracious to wait a moment at my front door while I go to the kitchen. Taking a minute or so, I grab an apple for him. In a Planet Money interview,…