Two price-setting monopolists meet in the street. One says to the other: "I will buy 10 more of your overpriced bananas, but only if you buy 10 more of my overpriced apples in return. Deal?" The second monopolist accepts the deal. They meet in the street again the following day. One says to the other: […]
Ireland's Supreme Court recently ruled that the buns Subway uses in its sandwiches contain too much sugar to be considered "bread", and are thus subject to Value Added Tax (VAT). The decision lead to headlines and discussion along the lines of "Irish High Court Rules Subway’s Sandwich Bread Is Not Legally Bread" or "Ireland declares […]
Pokémon Go is an economy in miniature. There is exchange: players trade Pokémons and swap gifts. There is scarcity: the balls required to catch Pokémons are scarce, as is Pokémon storage capacity and other items in the game. There is production: through various activities, such as walking a Pokémon egg, or leaving a Pokémon in […]
Back in 2014, I wrote a blog post on the end of mandatory retirement for university professors. I quoted a number of men who argued that having a standard retirement age hurts women. Here's an extract from that original post: Thomas Klassen and David Macgregor, writing in the CAUT (Canadian Association of University Teachers) Bulletin, challenged […]
This post was written by Mike Veall of the Department of Economics at McMaster University. I appreciated the comments on my earlier post, where I suggested that a small monthly Basic Income system would have the advantage of being able to be scaled-up in a crisis. Incenting participation in the tax/transfer system is responsive to […]
This post was written by Mike Veall of the Department of Economics at McMaster University. What if in a future crisis there is again a need to distribute money? As Jennifer Robson put it, “government doesn’t have a magic list with everybody’s name and addresses and bank accounts.” I was reminded of this when thinking […]
I want something you could teach to first or second year economics students. Using tools they already have in their toolkit. MICRO Start with a Demand and Supply model of the market for haircuts. If we put a $1 per haircut tax on buyers of haircuts, the demand curve shifts vertically down by $1, reducing […]
Canada's economy may be on life support, but it is still hanging on. Even on streets that seem empty and shuttered, there are a few businesses getting by, or even thriving. The bookstore on Beechwood Avenue looks closed, but every so often a customer pops by to pick up an order from the bookrack hidden […]
As the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada begins to peak, there have several discussions and perspectives offered on how prepared Canada was for this pandemic as well as whether we moved quickly enough to address the situation. Obviously, the situation has improved markedly given that there is now time for these retrospectives […]
Marie Kondo is the guru behind the best-selling Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy. For some people, like me, her method works. One possible reason for its success is that, underneath it all, there are some sound behavioural economics principles. 1. Shift the reference point Marie Kondo recommends dividing one's possessions into five categories […]
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