Posts Tagged ‘Economics’
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 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 MoreCatholic Economic Teaching
The recent controversy over Pope Francis’s economic views has raised the related issue of whether these views are consistent with the traditional Catholic economic teaching. While the answer is in the affirmative, the pope has decidedly added a new emphasis and a more urgent tone to this teaching. Catholicism is, of course, primarily a…
Read MoreIs the Stock Market a Casino?
Detractors of the stock market often liken it to a casino. There are certainly some similarities. Many stock traders, not unlike gamblers, develop addictive personalities, are filled with greed for easy and quick riches, and often overestimate their chances of success. In addition, just like casinos, most stock markets seem to be skewed in favor…
Read MoreWhere is the Inflation Monster Hiding?
For the past several years, there has been concern that higher inflation is just around the corner. It is a valid concern, given the damage that high inflation can wreak on an economy and the Fed’s expansion of the money supply. But caution should be exercised in attempting to preempt rising inflation since the facts…
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