A Simple Tax Story

Thinking of tax reform, we can not only look at what we pay and how much, but also at simplifying taxes through pre-filled forms from the IRS.

The Time Zone Changes That Massachusetts Might Make

Cows don’t like the switch to daylight saving time. A California organic dairy farmer said he enjoys the extra hour of light that starts in March. But his cows don’t. Because they are accustomed to a 2:00 a.m. milking regimen,…

The Difference Between a Sunny and Stormy Business Climate

The World Bank’s Doing Business Index ranks 190 economies to show where the business climate is sunny or stormy because of regulatory policy.

The Magic of the MetroCard

The introduction of just one small MetroCard transformed NYC by lowering the transaction costs for traveling to work and friends in different boroughs.

Weekly Roundup: From Blockbuster Movies to Student Debt

This week’s economic news summary includes the transactions costs of new medical diagnostic codes, the personal and macro impact of the student loan crisis.

Wacky Maladies in Our New Medical Billing Codes

Praised by some for its disease classification detail, others believe ICD-10 will create massive transaction costs for healthcare providers.

Weekly Roundup: From Hot Hands to Sunk Costs

The behavioral economics ideas from our everyday economics are confirmation, expectations and projection bias, frames, temporal discounting and sunk costs.

Explaining the Health Club Memberships We Don’t Use

Behavioral economics explains that we sign up for health clubs and then don’t exercise because of unrealistic pre-commitment and upfront payment.

Weekly Roundup: From Drinking Behavior to Dating Decisions

This week’s everyday economics involved 6 economists and such ideas as product differentiation, behavioral economics, marginal utility, price and trade.

How the EU is Like a Dysfunctional Family

Like a dysfunctional family with members who dislike each other, the EU stays together because of the benefits of David Ricardo’s comparative advantage.