Diamond and Kashyap on the Recent Financial Upheavals
…was the inability of the firms to retain financing. The reasons, though, differed in each case. The Fannie and Freddie situation was a result of their unique roles in the…
…was the inability of the firms to retain financing. The reasons, though, differed in each case. The Fannie and Freddie situation was a result of their unique roles in the…
…most of his day feeding numbers into a computer while Dubner spends most of his day feeding words. That said, the nature of our collaboration on a given day is…
The benefits of sleep are by now well established, and yet many people don’t get enough. A new study suggests we should channel our inner toddler and get 30 minutes…
As a former top adviser to presidents Clinton and Obama, he believes in the power of the federal government. But as former mayor of Chicago, he says that cities are…
For soccer fans, it’s easy. For the rest of us? Not so much, especially since the U.S. team didn’t qualify. So here’s what to watch for even if you have…
Corporate Social Responsibility programs can attract better job applicants who’ll work for less money. But they also encourage employees to misbehave. Don’t laugh — you too probably engage in “moral…
Dollar-wise, the sports industry is surprisingly small, about the same size as the cardboard-box industry. So why does it make so much noise? Because it reflects — and often amplifies…
The philosopher known for his rigorous ethics explains why Steve is leading a morally inconsistent life….
Most travelers want the cheapest flight they can find. Airlines, meanwhile, need to manage volatile fuel costs, a pricey workforce, and complex logistics. So how do they make money —…
If two parents can run a family, why shouldn’t two executives run a company? We dig into the research and hear firsthand stories of both triumph and disaster. Also: lessons…
We have always been a nation of drinkers — but now there are more daily users of cannabis than alcohol. Considering alcohol’s harms, maybe that’s a good thing. But some…
…of RSS subscribers, via our FeedBurner feed, had jumped from about 14,000 to 42,000. Surely, I thought, this was an error. But it wasn’t. According to the FeedBurner blog, the…
…a year ago … Behind the higher prices: Feed. Rising corn and soybean prices have led to increased costs for feed. The increase is in large part because of rising…
…Q&A’s like this one and this one and this one, and Freakonomics Quorum discussions like this one about saving the African rhino. You will see a number of other new…
…Alma Casales, was surprised to learn that Coca-Cola is basically sugar water. She, like many of her countrymen is drinking it morning, noon, and night, and feeding it to her…
…many blanks yet to be filled in, that coming to grips with the totality of the initiative is quite challenging. “They often feed you a maddening diet of “it depends…
…You can’t let it feed your ego at all. Nobody must know. Not the people you are helping. Not anyone else. It’s like when Superman saves someone from being run…
…reward.” This is not true. I don’t like to take risks. I have a family to feed. Don’t take risks with your kids. Diversification is not about diversifying your cash…
…you’re soft-hearted don’t do it. Clean the pen, feed good feed, and tend any wounds but don’t get too close. No names, no handfed treats, and no special treatment for…
…hikes would feed into the goods they consume, like bus transport, housing, and food. In the next post, I will maintain that it would be better to subsidize those things…
(Photo: Feed My Starving Children) The question of how best to deliver food aid is a controversial one. In recent years, economists like Dean Karlan and Ed Glaeser have suggested…
Aisle upon aisle of fresh produce, cheap meat, and sugary cereal — a delicious embodiment of free-market capitalism, right? Not quite. The supermarket was in fact the endpoint of the…
The pizza-and-gaming emporium prides itself on affordability, which means its arcade games are really cheap to play. Does that lead to kids hogging the best games — and parents starting…
Aisle upon aisle of fresh produce, cheap meat, and sugary cereal — a delicious embodiment of free-market capitalism, right? Not quite. The supermarket was in fact the endpoint of the…
The “molecular gastronomy” movement — which gets a bump in visibility next month with the publication of the mammoth cookbook “Modernist Cuisine” — is all about bringing more science into…
What do a computer hacker, an Indiana farm boy, and Napoleon Bonaparte have in common? The past, present, and future of food science.
When you want to get rid of a nasty pest, one obvious solution comes to mind: just offer a cash reward. But be careful — because nothing backfires quite like…
In the final episode of our whale series, we learn about fecal plumes, shipping noise, and why Moby-Dick is still worth reading. (Part 3 of “Everything You Never Knew About…
…available shows. Select the show you would like to add by clicking “Set up.” It should look something like this: Depending on the app you use, you may need to…
When a zoo needs an elephant, or finds itself with three surplus penguins, it doesn’t buy or sell the animals — it asks around. Zachary Crockett rattles the cages….
