The Best Lesson I Have Ever Learned From A Wise Man: The Significance of Intellectual Humility
By Miguel Martinez-Zavala — It was during the spring of 2011, and while I was waiting outside the Cameron School of Business office for one of my MBA classes to start, when I asked a classmate who was the person on the wheelchair getting into the Malloy Hall building. “He is Prof. Whitney,” he replied.…
Read MoreThe Wizard of Oz as a Monetary Allegory
By Dr. Hassan Shirvani — Since the Chicago journalist L. Frank Baum published his The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, the book has become one of the most beloved American tales of adventure. Millions of both children and adults have taken great pleasure in reading about Dorothy, a little girl living in the midst…
Read MoreDon’t Just Dream About Success: Stack the Odds in Your Favor
By Ramon Fernandez — I just finished reading a new book by Joe Ben Hoyle entitled Don’t Just Dream About Success: Stack the Odds in Your Favor. It’s a motivational advice book about how to achieve success and attain the goals that you set for yourself. The author writes from experience as a successful CPA,…
Read MoreThe Art and Business of Clinical Translation
By Mr. Tong Sun —– Q: What is clinical translation? A: Clinical Translation is the process which turns research in the laboratory to usable clinical applications. Today, much of the research time and effort in the lab are spent on understanding the biological mechanisms, or causes, of diseases. Although these studies provide invaluable insights into…
Read MoreThe Paradox That is Colombia
By Dr. Roger Morefield —- Welcome to the “New Colombia” (Read this post in Spanish) Based on its per-capita Gross National Income (GNI), Colombia meets the World Bank criteria for classification as an upper middle income country. But it still has many of the earmarks of a low-income developing country, including its high poverty rate…
Read MoreThe Economics of the Just Price
By Dr. Hassan Shirvani — The concept of the “just” or “fair” price is as old as History. To combat predatory lending practices, price gouging, profiteering, and price discrimination, many governments throughout history have passed laws to protect their citizens against dishonest and unethical lenders and sellers. Thus, the Babylonian king Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.) had…
Read MoreUrban Agriculture: Revitalizing Local Economies
Urban agriculture is growing in cities around the country, revitalizing neighborhoods, cultures, and even local economies. It’s actually not a new idea: Think of the Victory Gardens during World War I and World War II – home gardens which were responsible for more than 40% of the total vegetable production in the United States. Currently…
Read MoreConservatives vs. Liberals: The Economic Debate
Given their disparate ideologies, conservatives and liberals generally reach different conclusions about such economic issues as how modern economies operate, what should be the role of government economic policies and regulations, and what levels of income and wealth inequality should be tolerated. While the foregoing economic debate between the two camps has been ongoing for…
Read MoreLower the Minimum Wage
Despite the struggling economy, documented by a workforce participation rate of less than 63%, proponents have urged an increase in the Federal minimum wage. This is a bad move at the worst possible time. Even Janet Yellen, Chair of the Federal Reserve, indicated that loose monetary policies will continue due to the poor job market.…
Read MoreDid Government Housing Policy Cause the Financial Crisis?
The financial meltdown of 2008 impacted the global economy on an unimaginable scale. Many economists consider it the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It resulted in the threat of a total collapse of the global financial system, the bailout of many major banks by national governments, and downturns in stock markets around the world. In many areas,…
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