economics - Observations

Productivity Growth And Olive Oil Production

I was wondering how olive oil made recently, and curiosity led me to contrast methods of production over the past two thousand years: An olive press from Biblical times: An old-fashioned olive oil mill (unclear how old it really is though): Large scale modern

economics

The Origins Of Money

An article on the origins of money from the Satoshi Nakamoto Institute. Fascinating because it ties together insights from evolutionary biology, economics, and human nature to explain why even ancient societies needed some standardized medium of exchange, i.e., money. Lots of interesting bits

economics

The Use Of Knowledge In Society

Years ago, as a recent graduate with an engineering degree, I found myself drawn towards technocratic solutions to the problems I saw around me: Too much corruption? Appoint an anti-corruption commission that will focus on finding and prosecuting corrupt officials.Bread costs too much?

Dailies

Testing the Automation Revolution Hypothesis

This is a short paper where the authors try to understand what predicts automation of jobs, and if there is an automation revolution ongoing or in the near future that will causes large-scale displacement of jobs. The conclusion is that there probably isn't an

Dailies

Why Don't We Work 15-Hour Weeks?

Economist Tyler Cowen on how the idea that productivity growth will reduce working hours hasn't panned out: Some interesting bits: People do work less to some extent, but it's concentrated in the elderly (people retire much earlier now) and teenagers (less likely to have

Dailies

The Economics Of Christmas Trees

The economics of a good that takes almost a decade to produce and gets almost all of its sales within a few days each year are bound to be fascinating. The Hustle's article on the economics of Christmas trees is exactly that. Some interesting

Dailies

A Long History of a Short Block

A Long History of a Short Block: Four Centuries of Development Surprises on a Single Stretch of a New York City Street is a paper that studies the land use of a ~500 feet long city block in Manhattan from the 1600s to today.

economics

Why Are The Prices So Damn High?

This provocatively named paper tries to understand why prices in healthcare, education, and a few other sectors have increased so much. The focus is on the US but I believe the results hold for other developed countries too. The central idea is the Baumol

Dailies

The Economics Of Vending Machines

Zachary Crockett on the vending machine ownership and operation industry. The most interesting bit: What makes the vending industry truly unique is its stratification: The landscape is composed of thousands of small-time independent operators — and no single entity owns >5% of the market.

Dailies

Economics Of Airline Loyalty Programs

Here's Bryan Hobart on the bizarre economics of loyalty programs. Some learnings: Loyalty programs are the most valuable asset many airlines own. Delta would have a negative market value if not for its loyalty program: The Financial Times pegs the value of Delta’s

Dailies

Why Don't Rents Go Down?

This article puts forward a theory of why rents for commercial real-estate in New York City haven't gone down during the pandemic. I suspect similar dynamics apply to commercial real estate and rental housing worldwide. Notable quote: Land costs in New York City are

economics

Salmon Farming

While road-tripping across the Scottish Highlands this week, I noticed large circular metal structures on many of the lochs. They turned out to be salmon farms, a big part of the economy of rural Scotland. I was under the impression that salmon farming was

Dailies

Where Do Prices Come From?

An essay by economist Russ Roberts on where prices come from. I've always thought of prices being driven by demand. But of course, supply and the cost of providing the good plays an important role in prices too: Why are red peppers consistently more

Dailies

Bread And Emergent Order

Why wouldn't bread be cheaper and better if we had a government bureaucrat (a minister for bread) dedicated to managing the prices of bread and everything that goes into making it? The economist Russ Roberts has a wonderful video on how emergent order and

Subscribe to Observations