Quite Possibly the Most Flattering E-Mail Ever
…least my new favorite: Good afternoon Stephen, I am a psychologist by education and spend my professional life as a consultant in the field of higher education and an executive…
…least my new favorite: Good afternoon Stephen, I am a psychologist by education and spend my professional life as a consultant in the field of higher education and an executive…
…as a book in 1945 with his thesis advisor Simon Kuznets [who would win the Nobel Prize in economics in 1971], argued that the American Medical Association had the power…
Sure, markets generally work well. But for some transactions — like school admissions and organ transplants — money alone can’t solve the problem. That’s when you need a market-design wizard…
That was the question I found myself asking while reading through the Times sports section in recent days. I understand that we are sort of between seasons here. The Super…
…aptonym is good, and legitimate. We will convene a blue-ribbon panel here at the Freakonomics office to determine the best entries. If you supply one of the three best aptonyms,…
…also a commonly used phrase to describe reciprocal behavior. But of all the words available in the English language to describe this idea, is “tit-for-tat” really the best one when…
Our friend Annitra Morrison sent in this video the other day, and I’ve watched it at least a dozen times. It’s by professional BASE jumper, wingsuit flyer, and all around…
The employee ownership movement is growing, and one of its biggest champions is also a private equity heavyweight. Is this meaningful change, or just window dressing?…
…Bigger expeditions, involving several vessels, may cost $30,000 and require professional financing, This comes from former police and military officers or civil servants, qat dealers, fishermen and former pirates. They…
…push sound policy to stop global warming. As an example, he points to the failure, last year, of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. The bill was the most serious climate-change-prevention…
Why are these sudsy roadside stops one of the fastest growing industries in America? Zachary Crockett takes a look under the hood….
…can lead to disbarment. The restriction on investors is decades old and stems from even older strictures against lawyers sharing fees with nonlawyers, for fear that might compromise their professional…
…also work fewer hours than straight males. Lesbian women, by contrast, work more hours than straight females and are “overrepresented in male-dominated professions that pay better than female-dominated professions.” [%comments]…
What’s a college degree really worth these days?
Channeling the voices of celebrities can be a lucrative career — one that requires empathy and discretion, as well as literary chops. Zachary Crockett checks the acknowledgements….
…week came word that Nissan hopes to bring autonomous vehicles to the market by 2020. If you read this heartbreaking Times article by Nicholas Kulish about a series of bus…
In which we argue that failure should not only be tolerated but celebrated.
…need some help to meet their objectives. Allow me to explain. And as always, please chime in with comments. They are all successful, highly educated, completely obsessed with money, and…
She arrived in the U.S. as an 11-year-old refugee, then rose to become Secretary of State. Her views on immigration, nationalism, and borders, from this 2015 interview, are almost strangely…
…hire a professional. They ignore the fact that comparative advantage works in production, but it must be modified in consumption activities, as those can alter utility beyond any monetary gains…
…sex as a form of communication/bonding/intimacy vs. purely procreational purposes? A: Bonobos offer the best example of non-reproductive sex. They use sex at the drop of a hat for reasons…
Sure, markets work well in general. But for some transactions — like school admissions and organ transplants — money alone can’t solve the problem. That’s when you need a market-design…
Why is it separate from medical insurance? And is it really insurance at all? Zachary Crockett goes in for a cleaning….
…for sending in the excellent questions. Q. Under what circumstances will a voter actually change his/her mind about whom to vote for? I understand that this rarely happens (this study…
…will give you another example of the impact of sports. When we took Broadcast.com public, the stock achieved what was, at the time, the largest one-day gain in the history…
…any other subject). He is prone to composing spontaneous poems, so I pretended that I was trying to pick out a rhyme that he would be apt to come up…
A new book by an unorthodox political scientist argues that the two rivals have more in common than we’d like to admit. It’s just that most American corruption is essentially…
…paper: This article extends interplanetary trade theory to an interstellar setting. It is chiefly concerned with the following question: how should interest charges on goods in transit be computed when…
…Thanks to Kenn and Andrew. Perhaps, if you leave more questions in the comments, we can persuade him to answer a second round. The new Yankee Stadium under construction. (Photo:…
…do like the economic spirit behind the story he tells, and I think you will too: In short, this is a government scheme created to discourage driving under the influence….
