Everyday Economics - Suggest a New Topic
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1158 results found
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Housing - should cities be allowed to build it as a commodity - e.g., electricity. Taxes now main component of housing cost.
Some cities are not big enough, and most do not have housing for homeless people or even working people. If cities could decide what would make their size optimal, and then provide housing - in the way that cities sometimes now provide electricity or water if there is not a vendor of these services - cities could build to an optimal size, and provide the kind of housing that meets the population needs. Currently, property tax is a huge component of housing cost, and that might go to the state. Also, the cost of property transfer within market rates due…
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1 vote
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Money and Banking Update
What is the fed up to over the past 8 years post recession vs what I was taught in the 1970s and 1980s. I was taught that the fed should keep a dollar worth a dollar and not to intentionally promote inflation. Compare the former open market operations with today's QE programs and direct purchases. What are the pros and cons of the new approach.
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4 votes
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Can you please make a video of why my country Kosovo has unemployment of more than 40% even after 16 years have passed since war? I know so
Can you please make a video of why my country Kosovo has unemployment of more than 40% even after 16 years have passed since war? I know some faults go to corrupted, incapable politicians but i want an economist point of view. Thanks!
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Why hasn't gobs more money past the 2009 recovery ignited high inflation?
What would Milton Friedman say about the comparatively low levels of inflation from 2009 to 2016 despite Fed printing presses running in overdrive?
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Will robots replace humans in most jobs and what will that do to our society?
See this popular video by CGP Grey:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pq-S557XQU16 votes -
How can we best take advantage of charitable dollars and development money from rich countries?
I love the work of GiveWell in attempting to rigorously evaluate charities to help donors pick the most evidence-supported charitable organizations. However, this assumes that donors will give a set amount of money and are just looking for a recipient. In practice, I think donors are more likely to give to some groups that tug at the heart strings, that are related to current news, etc. Some charities won't be supported by rich governments for ideological reasons. So besides using metrics like lives saved per dollar, how can we maximize donations from rich countries and ensure that they do the…
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Coping With Tech Driven Housing Booms / Rent Control
Different kinds of rent controls - hard caps, regulated increases, tenancy decontrol, different approaches to charging "fair rents" and problems with linking to CPI.
What should/could be done to cope in a housing boom? E.g. San Francisco, New York and so forth.
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Is there a general rule as to when a government SHOULD intervene in an economy?
Is there a general rule as to when a government SHOULD intervene in an economy?
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Did colonization help colonizing nations?
It's clear that some groups benefited (many producers got cheaper inputs/resources than otherwise), but did nations as a whole benefit (at the expense of the colony)?
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Who pays company tax and how much higher would wages be without it?
Do corporations pay tax? Do they pay enough? Who actually pays? How much higher would wages be if corporations were not taxed? What does the latest research have to say?
1 voteHi,
Thanks for the suggestion. Take a look at the tax videos from Principles and see if that gives you what you’re looking for. It doesn’t answer all of your questions but I think you will find it helpful. Start here: http://mruniversity.com/courses/principles-economics-microeconomics/taxes-subsidies-definition-tax-wedge -
Why Are Negative Interest Rates A Bad Thing?
While nobody wants skyrocketing inflation, Economists seem to agree that mild inflation is acceptable. However, there also seems to be a near universal belief that even mild deflation is a horrible phenomenon. I can't grasp why this is the case, other than the psychological effects of "self-fulfilling prophecy". If dollars are worth slightly more today then they are a month from now, won't that trigger demand/consumption? Won't that increased demand reduce unemployment and increase businesses spending/short-term investment? Please help me understand where I have gone wrong.
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What happens to investments when a currency collapses?
Say the US dollar collapses. There is massive runaway inflation. My mortgage is still $xxx,xxxx. What does my employer pay me? How? Can I pay off my house now worth a couple ounces of gold converted to inflated US dollars? Did the bank just lose huge on their bet with me and millions of other homes for which they loaned money? What other factors should I consider?
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How do we reconcile Ice-Age psychology (e.g. envy and spite to control IPD) with rational economics?
In small groups, where cooperation was the iterated prisoners' dilemma, it was quite rational to act irrationally, declining unequal sharing for example. See the allocate / veto game, where disgust at "unfairness" makes one side turn down free money.
Those instincts run deep. They drive the politics of envy and tribal resentment.
But to prosper we must embrace rational economics, and learn to live with unequally-rich, as superior to equally poor.2 votes -
Does saving money hurt others?
Are those who hoard money depriving others, making others lives less prosperous?
5 votes -
Did slavery help finance the Industrial Revolution in England?
Eric Williams's book Capitalism and Slavery puts forward the notion that the profits from slavery helped finance the Industrial Revolution. What do modern historians and economists think of this proposition?
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What is money? Do I care?
I've always thought money is a squirrely thing. It transfers value but doesn't have any inherent value itself. How should we think about money, trade, and prosperity?
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4 votes
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