Jul 06 Why Are Christmas Tree Stands Different in NYC? Robert Frank: Economic naturalists often find that many interesting new questions are stimulated by the experience of living in an unfamiliar environment. That’s always been my experience during sabbaticals spent away from Ithaca. One Saturday last December during my… Continue reading
Jul 06 Judge OKs Plan to Sell GM Assets; Appeal Looms By PBS News Hour A New York judge has approved General Motors Corp.'s bankruptcy sale in a move that will allow the company's most-profitable assets to quickly emerge from bankruptcy protection under government ownership. Continue reading
Jul 05 Reader Response: The Uncounted Unemployed Paul Solman: A provocative response, via the PBS Ombudsman, to Thursday’s story about undercounting unemployment. The emailer said it was okay if her name was posted. I assume that means it’s okay to… Continue reading
Jul 03 Why Are Newspapers Sold in Vending Machines That Allow You to Take More Than One? Robert Frank: Here’s another product-design question, this one posed by my former student Brendan Quigley. “Why,” he asked, “are newspapers, but not soft drinks, sold in vending machines that allow customers to take more units than they paid for?”… Continue reading
Jul 02 Watch Other News: After Budget Failure, California Begins Issuing IOUs In other news, California began issuing IOU notes after the governor failed to reach a deal on the state's budget, and Vice President Joe Biden visited troops in Iraq. Continue watching
Jul 02 Watch June Unemployment Dims Prospects for Recovery After employers shed more jobs than expected in the month of June, the unemployment rate hit a 26-year high last month. New York Times columnist David Leonhardt talks about what the latest job numbers mean for the overall economic picture. Continue watching
Jul 02 Disparities in Unemployment Remain Across Patchwork Nation By Dante Chinni, Anna Shoup As national unemployment numbers for continue to rise, a look at unemployment through Patchwork Nation's community types offer some explanation of why some areas have experienced greater job loss than others. Continue reading
Jul 02 Why Does Your Refrigerator Have a Light, But Not Your Freezer? Robert Frank: Today’s question was posed by my former student Karim Abdallah. “Why,” he asked, “does a light come on when you open the refrigerator but not when you open the freezer?” The cost-benefit principle offers a promising framework… Continue reading
Jul 02 Employers Shed More Jobs Than Expected in June, Unemployment Reaches 9.5 Percent By Admin, PBS News Hour Employers cut more jobs than expected in June, nudging the unemployment rate closer to double digits and quashing hopes for a quick economic recovery. Continue reading
Jul 02 Watch 10:54 Many Left Uncounted in Nation's Official Jobless Rate By PBS News Hour Paul Solman examines how the number of jobless people who fall outside of official unemployment counts offer a different picture of the nation's economic recovery. Continue watching