When It’s Tough to Calculate the Cost of An Internet Tax

After the Supreme Court said any state could charge internet taxes, the decision rippled across small, large, local, and remote businesses.

Why a Safety Net Should Catch Kids

Assume your government has $1 to spend on a social safety net. You need to decide who gets what. One way is ROI–the Return On your Investment. Of course we can ask about return through non-dollar criteria. But what if…

How Taylor Swift Uses Temptation Bundling

Because album bundles increase our demand for a star’s recordings, they help to propel a song or album to the #1 Billboard spot.

What the Supreme Court Might Cost Us

The Supreme Court decision on South Dakota’s internet taxes will affect local and online businesses, consumers, and state budgets.

Why Daylight Saving Time is Good For Us

With Daylight Saving Time (DST) having just begun, we might find that shifting sunlight from the morning to the evening has made us safer.

What an Economist Would Buy at the Salad Bar

We could say that we are looking at salad bar economics when we compare the price per pound at the salad bar to the produce aisle.

The Easiest Way to Keep a New Year’s Resolution

Combining our “wants”and “shoulds” into temptation bundling, we wind up with a commitment device that helps us keep our New Year’s resolutions.

Weekly Roundup: From Smart Cars to Dumb Laws

This week’s economic news summary includes work week tradeoffs in France, new labor laws for the gig economy, and why price tags are disappearing.

What We Are Willing to Do For Money

Monetary incentives can influence a decision and distort the information we access for our cost and benefit research.

Four Charts That Show Why We Should Go to College

With higher college tuition and less wage growth for college grads, still, the college wage premium and its opportunity cost make college worth it.