Defense spending has long occupied a sacred cow status in the American political arena. This status is in part due to conventional beliefs regarding the benefits of defense spending, most notably that it is a good way of stimulating the
Did Thorstein Veblen Predict the Popularity of Apple?
Thorstein Veblen was right about the nature of conspicuous consumption, and the popularity of Apple products among modern consumers may be proof of this. Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption essentially states that affluent consumers attempt to signal their wealth and
The Mortgage Interest Deduction Isn’t Working
When it comes to quotes about economists, there may be none more well-known than President Truman’s remark about the two-handed economist. Frustrated with what he perceived as the inability of economists to take a firm stance on an issue, President Truman
Growth of the Solar PV Industry and Income Tax Credits
Renewable energy sources of all types have seen immense energy generation efficiency gains over the past decade. This is most apparent in the solar industry where the costs of generating electricity through solar photovoltaic systems have decreased by 79% since
Engel Curve for away from home food expenditures
I chose to determine how much aggregate away from home food expenditures varied with changes in aggregate disposable income in the United States between 1929 and 2014. Given that this was a time-series analysis, positive autocorrelation was a concern prior