Category Frances Woolley
The marginal productivity of geniuses: why Apple’s workers earn modest wages
Apple has recently come under fire for the low wages paid to its retail employees, the sales "specialists" and technical support "geniuses." According to a recent New York Times article, Apple is doing something "unique in the annals of retailing". It pays "a modest hourly wage, and no commission, to employees who typically have college […]
Oil, art, and silver plate
Damian Ortega's sculpture False Movement (Stability and Economic Growth) consists of three oil barrels perched upon a rotating platform. It's a politically motivated art work – "Stability and Economic Growth" was a Mexican election campaign slogan – with an unsubtle message. An oil-based economy is precarious and vulnerable to collapse; the appearance of economic growth is false […]
A libertarian at liberty
Laura Ingalls Wilder left the royalties from the Little House in the Prairie series to her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. Rose had no living children of her own, so she bequeathed the rights to the Little House series to Roger MacBride. One account of why Wilder left everything to MacBride is the adopted grandson theory: MacBride was […]
Interpreting coefficients right: does it matter?
Econometricians spend their lives trying coming up with new and better estimation techniques. Some of the ideas are excellent but impractical ("Just find a suitable instrumental variable"), and some complicate matters for minimal benefit (some argue that using logit or probit rather ordinary least squares estimation falls into this category). So when I stumble across […]
Eliminating milk quotas: a thought experiment
There are three ways to reduce the price of a product. The first is through technological innovation – the reason why the price of computing power and memory storage is now so low. The second is to cut wages, or the price of other inputs. Even though the basic technology of sewing t-shirts has not […]
Modern medicine, warts and all
Warts epitomize the dilemmas of modern medicine. They are pervasive – Verruca Vulgaris is called "the common wart" for a reason. They're not life threatening, but they diminish life quality. They can be treated with the latest high tech laser weaponry – or left to their own devices, as warts not infrequently go away without treatment. […]
Rat choice theory
The magnificent edifice of modern microeconomics is built on a simple model of human behaviour: rational choice theory. The rational person has goals; things she wants and values. She makes choices; she acts to achieve her goals. Saints can be rational, and so can sinners. What matters is having preferences and making choices, whatever those choices […]
How to prepare a tenure file
An academic preparing a tenure file is like a lawyer arguing the case that will make or break her career. The first, vital step is to know the law. What are the requirements for tenure, as set out in the university's collective agreement with faculty? As communicated by the department chair? As established by past […]
Working on Claim in a Low Wage Economy
People value time – and money. There is a trade-off: to get more money, a person must spend less time on other things – child care or home repairs, making cinnamon buns or swimming in Meech Lake, playing Call of Duty or Tetris. In the absence of income support programs, or help from family and […]
About WCI
As you can see, Stephen is revamping the WCI design. We're adding an 'about WCI' page. What I've drafted is below the fold. Comments welcome.
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