Economic Theory
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AI Raises the Value of What It Can’t Replicate
From Broadway to the workplace, people pay a premium for what technology cannot reproduce. AI may make distinctly human qualities more valuable, not less.
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Put Money on It? The Social Value of Prediction Markets
Prediction markets reveal which beliefs people are actually willing to risk money on — and generate valuable information in the process.
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Univ. of Michigan’s Hidden Grades Will Backfire on Students
Hiding student grades may sound compassionate, but it will weaken an important signal of merit and push employers toward less transparent ways of sorting applicants.
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The Price of Fed Silence
When the Fed withholds information, markets don’t stop searching — they simply reward those with privileged access.
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Economists Are Not Blind to the Full Range of Human Motivations
The fact that economists describe consumption as an end does not mean they dismiss humanity’s higher purposes.
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When Rational Individual Choices Produce Collective Waste
Why we keep paying for practices nobody wants—and what finally makes them disappear.
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Can a Freely Given Coconut Begin Civilization?
Trust precedes trade. Our natural empathy, our desire to see others do well, cultivates social order and generates the wealth of nations.
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Tariffs Didn’t Rebuild Factories. They Fueled a Lobbying Boom.
When government decides who pays and who is exempt, businesses rationally redirect resources from investment to lobbying and favor seeking.
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‘Pink’ Prices Aren’t Prejudice
Similar consumer products can command different prices. Critics call the pattern a “pink tax,” but it’s neither arbitrarily imposed nor impossible to avoid.
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Entrepreneurship Requires More Than a Million-Dollar Idea
The entrepreneur’s challenge is creating value others want to buy. They don’t start with a perfect idea, but with a willingness to listen and learn.
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•
AI Raises the Value of What It Can’t Replicate
From Broadway to the workplace, people pay a premium for what technology cannot reproduce. AI may make distinctly human qualities more valuable, not less.
-
•
Put Money on It? The Social Value of Prediction Markets
Prediction markets reveal which beliefs people are actually willing to risk money on — and generate valuable information in the process.
-
•
Univ. of Michigan’s Hidden Grades Will Backfire on Students
Hiding student grades may sound compassionate, but it will weaken an important signal of merit and push employers toward less transparent ways of sorting applicants.
-
•
The Price of Fed Silence
When the Fed withholds information, markets don’t stop searching — they simply reward those with privileged access.
-
•
Economists Are Not Blind to the Full Range of Human Motivations
The fact that economists describe consumption as an end does not mean they dismiss humanity’s higher purposes.
-
•
When Rational Individual Choices Produce Collective Waste
Why we keep paying for practices nobody wants—and what finally makes them disappear.
-
•
Can a Freely Given Coconut Begin Civilization?
Trust precedes trade. Our natural empathy, our desire to see others do well, cultivates social order and generates the wealth of nations.
-
•
Tariffs Didn’t Rebuild Factories. They Fueled a Lobbying Boom.
When government decides who pays and who is exempt, businesses rationally redirect resources from investment to lobbying and favor seeking.
-
•
‘Pink’ Prices Aren’t Prejudice
Similar consumer products can command different prices. Critics call the pattern a “pink tax,” but it’s neither arbitrarily imposed nor impossible to avoid.
-
•
Entrepreneurship Requires More Than a Million-Dollar Idea
The entrepreneur’s challenge is creating value others want to buy. They don’t start with a perfect idea, but with a willingness to listen and learn.