Sign o' the Times
The latest recession indicator: more people are searching Google for “coupons” than for “Britney Spears.” And it’s not that Britney is getting less popular. By this measure, the recession began in March 2008. Check out the full time series, here. (Hat tip: Google’s Chief Economist, Hal Varian, via my co-author Bo Cowgill.) Read More »
The FREAK-est Links
What happens when Monty Python puts its videos on YouTube for free? It increases DVD sales by 23,000 percent. (Earlier) How much are your friends worth? (Earlier) It’s like online dating, except you’re seeking cities. (Earlier) Will Wilkinson asks: are economists clueless? (HT: Jarrod Hunt) (Earlier) Read More »
Help Wanted: Babysitters. Salary: Six Figures.
For anyone who read, even casually, about the welfare wars of the 1990′s, it seems strange that there is so little conversation, political or otherwise, about the topic these days. That may soon be changing, of course, as the proposed Obama stimulus plan attempts to direct money toward the poorest segments of our population. Read More »
The True Cost of Credit
My former student Sean Harper has put together a nifty little web site, truecostofcredit.com, that allows you to see how much merchants are charged when you use your credit card. I was surprised at how high the fees were. For instance, in this example of a Mastercard, when you buy a $1.50 pack of gum Read More »
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