Category: Uncategorized

Inflation and “quality”

We need to adjust prices for the “quality” of the goods, or more generally for the goods’ features.  My own work in this are has been on hard disk drives, in Ruebeck (2002, 2005). Marketplace has a series on inflation,…

Salmon and inflation

This is part of a series on inflation. The price of smoked salmon hasn’t swum upstream (Marketplace) Of course, what we’re asking when we “adjust for inflation” is how prices have changed relate to an average.  (That average is weighted…

Diversity, who thinks it’s a good idea?

Google thinks it’s a good idea, that’s who. Google explores why everyone is a little bit racist (Marketplace) India evidently thinks so, too. Women are the face of India’s Mars mission, but they’re still the exception (PRI) (As featured by…

Brazil, Germany, and the spaces of soccer

Lots to think about here when pondering the individual and the group — far beyond just Brazil v. Germany. Baseball or Soccer (NYTimes, Brooks) Misunderstood neo-classic economics, in this vein, is when people explain soccer while thinking it can be…

Cap and Trade news mid-2014

Good news from the states, or at least most of them. States Say Cutting Down On Carbon Was Easier Than Expected (NPR) Once again, the way forward often involves the middle ground Conservatives, Environmentalists Found Common Ground In Cap And Trade (NPR)…