In early 2020, the Pokemon market started to rapidly heat up. Although some older games and assorted memorabilia have also seen prices spike in the frenzy, the real golden tickets have been rare, colorful pieces of cardboard — Pokemon cards. Several overlapping socioeconomic factors and decades of sustained love for the global franchise have created … More What’s a Charizard Worth?
It’s undeniable that the energy resources we currently depend on cannot sustain the long-term ambitions of humanity. Fortunately, renewable energy continues to thrive. Over the course of a decade, the cost of solar power has dropped up to 90%, and the cost of wind energy from turbines have dropped up to 60%. Across the world, … More Shades of a Hydrogen-Powered Future
News outlets, political pundits, and even the occasional economist love to leverage letters to describe potential macroeconomic recovery options after the economy takes a dive. From the victorious “V-shape” to the nascent and troubling “K-shape”, here are a few ABCs of economic recoveries to consider: The V-Shape This is the recovery everyone hopes for. A … More The ABCs of Economic Recoveries
The proliferation of knowledge in the online age is vast and wonderful. Narrowing down all the possibilities into curated curricula, on the other hand, remains difficult. Even within dedicated online learning platforms, so many offerings are presented that the casual learner can easily get overwhelmed. Online learning platforms can reduce choice overload by organizing various … More One solution to “upskilling” roadblocks
Through my work at ZS, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time analyzing revenue leakage. Recently, I contributed to a ZS POV on revenue leakage within the pharmaceutical industry, showcasing public examples of major fraud faced by pharma (and how to mitigate it). I want to highlight a few key points from the article, and … More Revenue Leakage in the Shadows
I’ve noticed that there’s a certain mythos around the idea of an “entrepreneur”: brash and bold, risk-taking, willing to bet it all with no salary and long hours in the hopes of striking it rich as their startup takes flight. In an entrepreneurship seminar I took at Stanford, Perry Klebahn (d.school professor at Stanford, creator … More The 48 Hour Test (Introducing: PigeonLogos!)
With the global pandemic exacerbating financial stress for colleges and universities across the United States, proposed budget cuts have begun to ripple out across the field of higher education. In response, students and alumni alike have criticized school administrations, pointing to “billion-dollar” endowments at some of the top institutions. The truth, however, is different than … More Busting Three Big Myths about College Endowments
In early 2020, the CARES Act was passed in response to severe negative macroeconomic effects stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the United States. One of the biggest media talking points centered around the passage of a $1,200 stimulus payment, designed to be distributed over the coming months and help increase consumption. These stimulus payments … More Econ in the News: Stimulus Checks (and Debit Cards)
Premium wages. Company picnics and events. Subsidized housing. And brand recognition at some of the hottest companies to work for. I’m not describing tech companies. I’m talking about blue-collar jobs in the 20th century. The rise and fall of early private welfare capitalism in the United States, plus a little economic history, shows key parallels … More Programmers are the Blue-Collar Workers of the 21st century
There are no “black swan” events, only lack of imagination. … More The Myth of the Black Swan
