Economist, J. A. Schumpeter is most widely known today for his theory of "creative destruction". This article actually provides a great look into what he meant by that. I think the parallel that is drawn to the music industry is very appropriate to explain exactly what creative destruction is so I'll follow along in the same way - Recorded music hurt concert attendance > Tapes killed the record > CDs killed tapes > MP3s killed CDs.
Today's daily chart from The Economist shows us just how many people major companies in the US and the rest of the world really employ. Notice how close Walmart is to being larger then the Chinese People's Liberation Army!
This is a great post about a student aid program you may know of or be involved with. You'll recognize in this statement two important concepts from our class,
"...popularity aside, the equity and efficiency of the program are questionable at best." I feel I must note that there is more than one way to skin a cat. On what other grounds would you cite the work study program as inefficient (not mentioned by the author)? Or, do you think the current system works well and needs no change? Tonight President Obama addressed congress with a new proposal to aid in the economic recovery. Although this is a macroeconomic topic, I'd like you to read this WSJ post that collects some thoughts from prominent economists. For our current events quiz I'll only hold you accountable for the first four "reactions". Feel free to read on though if you're interested!
This is an old article (May 2011) about electric cars, but it's very interesting and still relevant. There are many implications that this sort of technology could have on the economy, both positive and negative. For now consider this question - does the potential for a car to make money for you make you willing to pay more upfront for it?
I hope that you are all having a great Labor Day weekend. A recent jobs report noted that zero, yes zero, 0, zilch, nada, jobs were created over the past month. This article gives a good look at why that might be happening. We will go into this in much more detail after we've learned how to use supply and demand analysis, but for now try answering this question.
You've been given the chance to work for the weekend and earn $1000, but you've also won a paid trip to Dallas and box seats at the Cowboy's opening game (a prize worth $750) the same weekend. If all you cared about is money which would you choose? Now what if there was a chance that you had to pay a 35% tax on the income you made from working. What would you choose then, the certain $750 dollar value of seeing the Cowboys or potentially only making $650 because a tax is suddenly imposed on your weekend job? |
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July 2017
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