When a Rank Is Wrong

Seemingly indisputable because of their quantifiable origins, ranking criteria are really subjective and potentially misleading.

The Great Himalayan National Park’s Unintended Consequences

When planners developed India’s Great Himalayan National Park, they achieved their plans and some unintended consequences.

How National Policy Can Respond to Floods

With flooding becoming more frequent, national policy makers need to decide if flood insurance should be more affordable or avoidable.

When E-Cigarette Taxes Increased Smoking

Ranging from Argentina to Uganda, countries have banned e-cigarette sales. Elsewhere, hoping to minimize smoking, nations use e-cigarette taxes. The taxes though have had unintended consequences. Let’s take a look. E-Cigarette Taxes Globally, we have 30 countries that ban e-cigarettes…

Learn With Elaine: Misleading Metrics

Like factory quotas, snake bounties, or college ranking, sometimes incentives can create unintended consequences.

Why Metrics Can Be Misleading

We can wind up with misleading metrics when the number we use as a goal becomes the incentive that distorts output decisions.

What Central Banks Could Do To Our Cash

As more nations experiment with central bank digital currencies, we could see less cash, fewer banks, and maybe some unintended consequences.

Why Federal Spending Is Tough to Predict for Entitlement Programs

Looking back at Medicare and Medicaid, we can see why there are several versions of spending projections for the American Families Plan.

Why We Need Bigger Cars

The U.S. birth rate has been gliding downward. Per thousand women, aged 15 to 44, the general fertility rate dipped from 60.1 in 2018 to a provisional 56.8 during the end of 2020: Correspondingly, remaining at 20 percent, there is…

A China Trade Deal Update

Tariffs and trade deals can have unintended consequences. The Trump tariff war was not supposed to send jobs to China. However, Tesla responded in 2018 to China’s 25% retaliatory tariff on U.S. autos with a quickly completed plant in Shanghai.…