The Sports Economists Answer Your Questions
…2.375 or be less than zero. In contrast, the calculation of QB Score is quite easy. QB Score = All Yards – 3* All Plays – 30* All Turnovers Given…
The economist and social critic Glenn Loury has led a remarkably turbulent life, both professionally and personally. In a new memoir, he has chosen to reveal just about everything. Why?…
Adam Moss was the best magazine editor of his generation. When he retired, he took up painting. But he wasn’t very good, and that made him sad. So he wrote…
Adam Moss was the best magazine editor of his generation. When he retired, he took up painting. But he wasn’t very good, and that made him sad. So he wrote…
It takes a highly skilled stenographer — and some specialized equipment — to transcribe TV dialogue in real time at 300 words per minute. Will A.I. rewrite the script? Zachary…
…2.375 or be less than zero. In contrast, the calculation of QB Score is quite easy. QB Score = All Yards – 3* All Plays – 30* All Turnovers Given…
Could a lack of sleep help explain why some people get much sicker than others?
Every four years, the U.S. takes a look at the World Cup and develops a slight crush. What would it take to really fall in love?
Economists preach the gospel of “creative destruction,” whereby new industries — and jobs — replace the old ones. But has creative destruction become too destructive?
For Black men, the barbershop is a neighborhood hub. It could also be a place for them to get medical care. Plus: What happens to patients when affirmative action ends?…
Steve and producer Morgan Levey look back at the first 100 episodes of the podcast, including surprising answers, spectacular explanations, and listeners who heard the show and changed their lives….
Executives shell out millions of dollars for the privilege of flying private — but that convenience comes at a steep cost to the rest of us. Zachary Crockett prepares for…
American golfers lose 300 million balls a year — and all those bad swings are someone else’s business opportunity. Zachary Crockett hits the links….
Journalist Walt Hickey uses data to understand how culture works. He and Steve talk about why China hasn’t produced any hit movies yet and how he got his own avatar…
Those letters at the end of web addresses can mean big bucks — and, for some small countries, a substantial part of the national budget. Zachary Crockett follows the links….
Caroline Paul is a thrill-seeker and writer who is on a quest to encourage women to get outside and embrace adventure as they age. She and Steve talk about fighting…
Why do we use a specific kind of tree-bark tissue to seal up 70 percent of wine bottles? Zachary Crockett takes a sniff and gives the waiter a nod….
Youth baseball — long a widely accessible American pastime — has become overrun by $10,000-per-year for-profit travel leagues. Zachary Crockett peers inside the dugout….
…extracts the probabilities implied by option prices on those dates. (Wonkish detail: I used the January 2011 options on the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond exchange-traded fund (TLT) and…
…may well arise at some point. If this happens, the policy “mistake” of interest rates being too low in 2010 could be easily undone by higher interest rates in 2011….
…for now, turning weekly in early 2011). A Freakonomics Radio segment on APM’s Marketplace every two weeks. A series of one-hour programs to be broadcast on public-radio stations across the…
…the Yankees and wear a different uniform in 2011. If that happens, fans of the Yankees will get to experience what fans of many other teams have seen for years….
The Pittsburgh Steelers played in this year’s Super Bowl, but did not win it. Which means that, sitting in a warehouse somewhere, are lots of preprinted “Pittsburgh Steelers 2011 Super…
VCU teammates celebrate their win over Purdue during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the United Center on March 20, 2011 in Chicago. (Photo by…
…the average of “substantially similar” cars. Thus, according to the DOE, a maker of the 28-MPG 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid holds a “green-collar job,” but the maker of a 41-MPG…
…puzzling economics of sports, why ties should be allowed in baseball, and how football highlights America’s least flattering features. Sanderson’s most recent piece comes from the November 2011 issue of…
…in an estimated cost of more than $153 billion in lost productivity per year. That’s roughly 1% of GDP. Respondents were asked the question: “During the past 30 days, for…
…spread about Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italyand even Belgium and France – despite significant differences among these countries in fiscal policy, outstanding public debt and internati onal payments. By late 2011,…
(Photo: macwagen) The following is a cross-post from NFL.com, where we’ve recently launched a Football Freakonomics project. Well, it’s January. And even though my team stumbled into inglorious, injury-plagued defeat,…
…all. Consider a pair of articles in today’s N.Y. Times and Wall Street Journal, each reporting New York comptroller Thomas DiNapoli‘s report which shows that bonuses for 2011 are expected…
…gender gap in those categories in 2011. Just this week, the country’s Senate passed a bill aimed at ending gender discrimination in the workplace. A 2009 “Magna Carta of Women”…
