Economics Archives

The Insecticide DDT: Dangers and Lies

What is the history of the debate surrounding the insecticide DDT? What doubts were raised? Were they legitimate? In 1972, the EPA banned the use of the insecticide DDT in the U.S. Despite this, certain individuals and organizations kept the controversy alive by manufacturing doubt about the underlying science. In Merchants of Doubt, historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway tell the story. Read more to learn how the merchants of doubt engaged in the debate surrounding DDT.

Tim Harford: Is Globalization Good for the Economy?

Is globalization good for the world’s economies? What are the main arguments that maintain that globalization is bad? The debate as to whether globalization is good for the global economy is not a simple one—there are many factors to take into account. Principles of comparative advantage highlight the positives of globalization. But globalization still has its skeptics. Mostly, skeptics focus on the arguments that globalization is bad for the planet and for the poor. In this article, we’ll discuss how globalization has changed the way economies function and consider two arguments against globalization: the planet argument and the poor argument.

The 7 Basic Economic Principles You Should Know

How do economies work? What are the universal principles that apply to all economies of the world? In his book The Undercover Economist, Tim Harford provides a clear and down-to-earth explanation of how an economy works. He distills seven basic economic principles and illustrates how they manifest in real-world economies. Keep reading to learn about Tim Harford’s economic principles: scarcity, price targeting, externalities, missing information, the stock market, game theory, and globalization.

The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford: Overview

What can you learn from reading The Undercover Economist? What are the main takeaways from the book? The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford will help you think like an economist without boring you with endless graphs or complex math. You’ll learn why you make the economic decisions that you do and what happens when the basic economic principles that efficiently govern much of the world break down. Below is a brief overview of Tim Harford’s The Undercover Economist.

Environment and Economics: A Thorny History

What is the historical connection between the environment and economics? How do economic interests impact environmental policy? In Merchants of Doubt, historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway look at the tense relationship between the environment and economics. They explain why environmental issues are major targets for merchants of doubt—people or organizations who discredit science that threatens their agenda or ideology. Read more to learn about the historic connection between the environment and economics.

Globalization and Economy: How One Affects the Other

What exactly is globalization? How does the increasing globalization affect the economies of individual nations? Globalization can refer to many kinds of exchanges among nations, but we will define it as more trade between nations and more direct investment in other nations. Usually, trade and direct investments take place between rich countries. However, globalization is starting to influence poorer countries as well. We’ll discuss globalization and economy, how globalization has changed the way the world economy functions, and then move on to the case studies of Cameroon and China.

The Stock Economy: Lifting the Veil off the Stock Market

How does the stock market economy work? Why are so many people deterring from buying shares? The stock economy is a sector of the economy that is shrouded in secrecy. Complex jargon scares potential investors who don’t have a background in economics or finance. This article will help to lift that curtain. It will explain how stock prices are valued and why companies hire economists to help them play the stock market.

Information Gaps in Economics: What Are They?

What are information gaps in economics? Are seller-buyer information gaps good for the economy? When one party doing a business deal has more information than the other party, there is an information gap. Usually, the information gap is such that the seller has more information than the buyer. When this is the case, the market is not running efficiently. This article explains the information gap, discusses how to close it, and examines how to solve broken health care systems using these economic principles.

What Is a Perfect Market in Economics?

What’s a perfect market in economics? Are perfect markets even possible in the real world, or is it all just theory? Even though we rarely find perfect markets in the real world, it’s useful to understand the idea of perfect markets because economists usually start there when they see imperfections. Economists attempt to remove these imperfections. In this article, we’ll discuss the effects of imperfections in the marketplace, or externalities, and discuss when governments should step in to prevent negative externalities.

The Free-Market Economic System: Explained

How does the free-market economic system work? How are goods priced in such an economy? In the free-market economic system, products are generally almost equal to the marginal cost, or how much it costs to keep a business afloat. Plus, modest profits convince investors to keep their money in the business than in savings. This article takes a look at how the free-market system and its implications for taxes and non-market goods.