The economic globalization accelerates the development of the Chinese economy. It helps improve the consumption structure in China better and stimulates the consumption habits of the Chinese consumers, especially in the luxury goods market. In recent years, the Chinese luxury
The Economic Practices and Structures of Gangs and Cartels
A calm Friday evening in downtown Richmond, my former college roommate and I are on the back porch exchanging economic thought experiments, as we often do. The conversation expands to micro economic decision making and the interactions of Bertrand and
Why Airbnb Must be Deregulated in New York
Airbnb is ahead of its time and has majorly disrupted the Hotel industry, but regulating the company is unwarranted. On October 16, 2016, New York state passed regulation barring most urban apartment-dwellers from renting out their units for less than
Great What? Our Need to Understand the Great Inflation of the 1970s
As the graph below shows, the 1970s stand out as a period in which the U.S. had poor price level stability despite having a central bank, an advanced industrial economy, and educated policymakers. Therefore, understanding why this period
Should We Curtail Moral Hazard in Health Care?
If patients are completely insured against the costs of health care, will they consume more health care? Will these patients choose an equilibrium that is non-optimal to the welfare of society? These are the main concerns of moral hazard,
The Economic Impact of Real Estate Investment Trusts
Dreams of lucrative real estate investing for modern Americans are frequent, but realization is rare. Real estate and land of all types are predominantly illiquid assets as buying a house and land has been the “cornerstone” for the American Dream.
Glaeser: Can real estate bubbles be welfare-inducing?
“The best Wall Street minds and their best risk-management tools failed to see the crash coming,” wrote Joe Nocera in a 2009 NYT article aptly titled “Risk Mismanagement”. The Great Recession imparted an unwelcome lesson in humility to risk management
Why We Should Try Drug Legalization in the U.S.
Illegal drugs are an enormous problem in modern society. Humans have been using drugs for thousands of years, before present-day government structures existed. This was often done for medicinal or shamanistic purposes. But today, governments around the world have rendered
Action or Inaction: What will it cost to fight climate change and what’s to lose if we don’t?
Before exploring the costs of action and inaction against climate change I find it important to note that global climate change and its potential causes are not and can’t be objectively proven. I have my opinions on the matter, but
Saving The Euro
When I travelled to Spain several years ago, I talked with man who lived there. He explained how it was difficult for Spain to export their goods because the Euro was too expensive. This is because countries like Germany