Category Everyday economics
What is investment today worth tomorrow?
Once upon a time, canals were the latest thing in infrastructure investment. During the early years of the Industrial Revolution, they made it possible to move heavy goods, like coal, from mines to factories, using a fraction of the energy required by road transport. Delicate goods, like pottery, could be shipped with little breakage. Enterprising engineers and industrialists built […]
University budget surpluses: irreversible investment and uncertain demand
Unless it has a massive endowment fund, a university's biggest asset is its reputation. If it loses its reputation and students stop coming and paying, a university has only got a bunch of buildings that often aren't well-suited for any alternative use. That asset is not on the books. Unless it has a massive debt, […]
Why are groceries more expensive in the bulk food section?
Many grocery stores have a bulk food section, where shoppers scoop flour or nuts or spices from big bins into little plastic bags, and then take them up to the cash, where each individual purchase is weighed and priced. There are no brand names. There is no fancy packaging. Shoppers do all the work of […]
Scarce versus Abundant TP Equilibria
Canada is in an abundant TP equilibrium. Washrooms in restaurants, shopping malls, museums, universities, and other public places are, generally speaking, well stocked with toilet paper (TP). Inner Mongolia is in a scarce TP equilibrium. With the exception of elite venues such as four star hotels and airports, toilet paper is absent from public places. […]
What’s wrong with Airbnb?
Airbnb undermines the distinction between short-term, "hotel", accommodation and and long-term, "apartment" accommodation. Some people seem to figure this is a bad thing. New York State legislators, for example, have passed legislation imposing heavy fines on anyone listing their entire apartment on Airbnb or a similar service. But what – if anything – is wrong with what Airbnb […]
How Vancouver Escaped the Freeway Curse
In the 1950s, Vancouver began to feel the pain of traffic congestion. The travel time contour map below, taken from the 1958 study Freeways With Rapid Transit, shows how bad it was. In rush hour it took a 15 minutes or less to get from corner of Georgia and Granville to anywhere in the dark green area – […]
Don’t blame lack of cool new stuff for the slow recovery
I look in my garage and admire the lovely lines of my MX6. But it's a 21 year old car that I'm using for my daily driver, and I really should get a new car. But what sort of new car? Sometimes I look at the new MX5 and the Toyobaru twins, but……..no. Both are […]
The Great Moderation: International Trends in Alcohol Consumption
December marks the start of the Christmas and holiday season in much of the world and celebration is often marked by the consumption of alcoholic beverages. The negative health effects of consuming too many alcoholic drinks are well documented and along with stricter laws on drinking and driving, the end result has been a decline […]
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds or, Waste is a Value Judgement
Today, hundreds of thousands of pumpkin carvers will simply discard their pumpkin's seeds. I believe tossing out pumpkin seeds is a terrible waste. Pumpkin seeds, roasted with salt and butter, are a delicious and nutritious snack. And they aren't difficult to make: separate out the pumpkin seeds, wash them well with water, dry on paper […]
Is it ethical to sell complimentary copies of textbooks?
Faculty Books Recycling is a company that takes the complimentary copies of textbooks that publishers send professors, resells those comp copies to students, and makes a profit on the transaction. Faculty Books does everything possible to make professors feel that selling – or giving away – comp copies is an ethical thing to do. In […]
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
Recent Comments