The Prom Effect?
Researchers have long puzzled over the relatively poor health and education outcomes for babies born in the winter months. Past explanations have focused on school attendance laws, vitamin D exposure, and other environmental factors, but economists Kasey Buckles and Daniel Hungerman have found an overlooked explanation. Read More »
The Undercover Economist Answers Your Questions
I would recommend introducing your wife to the theory of real option valuation. Point out that the option to marry her was likely to remain open for many years after you originally met. By exercising the option so early, you showed your bride that the net present value of your relationship was large and positive and your uncertainty about the decision was very low. Read More »
Smallpox as Art
Installation artist Luke Jerram creates glass sculptures of diseases to “contemplate the global impact of each disease and to consider how the artificial coloring of scientific imagery affects our understanding of phenomena.” Read More »
The Plague of Medical Research
There is nothing conclusive in this report, but it is nevertheless sad and remarkable: Malcolm Casadaban, a University of Chicago medical researcher working on a better vaccine for the plague (Yersinia pestis), has died at the age of 60 and was found to have Yersinia pestis in his bloodstream. Read More »
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