Archive for the ‘economics’ tag
Verkeersbordvrij: free of traffic signs
A traffic experiment in the small Dutch city of Drachten is being hailed as a success after observers noted that casualties at one junction dropped from 36 over the previous four years to only two in the two years following the experiment. The experiment? Eliminate traffic lights and signs.
The idea is based on an urban design philosophy known as “shared space.” When drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists are forced to develop their own natural ways of interacting with each other, goes the thinking, they work out better social behaviors than the rule-driven behaviors dictated by professional traffic engineers.
On a 2006 trip to Jamaica, I observed a similar attitude toward driving among cab drivers, who blitz past grazing goats and children on bikes. They honk first and hit the brakes later. A friend of mine who spent a summer in Mexico City made similar observations about big city motorists.
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Popularity: 13% [?]
Fed asks approval to pay interest on reserves
The Federal Reserve is formally asking Congress for authority — starting this year — to pay interest on commercial-bank reserves, in an effort to gain better control over interest rates and more leverage to battle the credit crunch.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Economics lessons from pop songs
From ABBA to Zeppelin examines the lyrics of pop songs and often finds them grappling with economic questions. For example, Queen’s Freddie Mercury is aware of the difficulty in evaluating opportunity costs and time preferences:
I’m a man with a one track mind
So much to do in one lifetime (people do you hear me)
Not a man for compromise and where’s and why’s and living lies
So I’m living it all, yes I’m living it all
And I’m giving it all, and I’m giving it all
[…]
I want it all, I want it all, I want it all and I want it now
An essay question follows:
The lyrics above remind us that there is a lot to do in one short lifetime. Freddie Mercury, Queen’s lead singer, asserts that he wants it all and he wants it now. Do you prefer to consume goods in the present or future? With reference to these lyrics, explain why individuals charge interest for deferring consumption.
Audio samples and full lyrics are available for each entry.
Popularity: 1% [?]