Feb 19 How closely should you eye your online shopping cart? By Anna Sillers Although online prices are "stickier" than economists might guess, the proliferation of dynamic pricing means online prices might soon start swinging more often. Continue reading
Feb 18 Today’s racial wealth gap is wider than in the 1960s By Simone Pathe Average wealth in America has grown over the past 50 years, but not at the same rate for everyone. Wealth gaps, especially between whites and non-whites, are growing. In 2013, the average white family had seven times the wealth of… Continue reading
Feb 18 Look out for Medicare drug plans’ bait-and-switch pricing tactics By Philip Moeller Many Medicare drug plans – both Part D and plans that are part of Medicare Advantage policies – offer very low premiums to get you in the door. But they have ways of shifting the costs back on to Medicare… Continue reading
Feb 16 The Pleistocene investor who predicted Dow 5K: How does 18K feel? By Terry Burnham Economist Terry Burnham is well know for predicting that the Dow would hit 5,000 before it hit 20,000. Now that the Dow has closed above 18,000, Burnham isn't abandoning his forecast, but he is speaking openly about the physical and… Continue reading
Feb 16 How to get what’s yours from Social Security By Laurence Kotlikoff, Philip Moeller, Paul Solman One day while playing tennis, Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff informed Paul Solman about a strategy for maximizing the benefits that he and his wife were eligible to collect. They decided everyone else should know that secret, too, and are… Continue reading
Feb 13 How to get what you want from online dating By Paul Solman Looking for love for Valentine's Day? In this Q&A, Paul Solman speaks with OkCupid co-founder Christian Rudder, author of "Dataclysm," about what works and what doesn't on online dating sites. Helpful hint for men: Learn your grammar. Continue reading
Feb 13 How the West got rich and modern capitalism was born By Sven Beckert "We need to qualify the fairy tale we like to tell about capitalism and free labor," argues Harvard historian Sven Beckert, author of the new book, "Empire of Cotton." In part two of his essay on Making Sen$e, he explores… Continue reading
Feb 12 Watch 7:53 Using rational economics to simplify the search for romance By PBS News Hour What can online matchmaking sites teach us about the marketplace? When an economist turned to the Internet to find a date, he found that searching for a life partner isn’t much different from other kinds of shopping. Economics correspondent Paul… Continue watching
Feb 12 The 3 first date questions that will predict your romantic compatibility By Simone Pathe Paul Solman talks to OkCupid co-founder and president Christian Rudder about the three questions that will help you find love. Continue reading
Feb 12 America’s first big business? Not the railroads, but slavery By Sven Beckert For too long, historian Sven Beckert argues, historians have depicted slavery as a non-capitalist "Southern pathology." In his new book, "Empire of Cotton," Beckert shows how slavery was actually at the very roots of modern American capitalism. Continue reading