Victor V. Claar's Blog, page 7
December 25, 2009
Minimum Wage Casualties
When I reviewed this 20/20 segment about the unintended consequences of the minimum wage for this post -- the final post for today -- I was reminded of a marvelous op-ed piece one of my former students at Hope College published in the Detroit News. Here's Adam Folsom's sad August 31, 2006 tale of being a minimum-wage casualty, in its entirety:
I am one of the first casualties of Michigan's new minimum wage law.
I am a 21-year-old economics major at Hope College who last year worked...
Why Do ATMs Work Well While Voting Machines Do Not?
Why do ATMs and other machines work so well that we seldom worry they won't, while voting machines are far from foolproof? This segment from 20/20 investigates.
Are "Sweatshops" Bad? Maybe It Depends on Where You Are Living
I remember well the afternoon, during my Fulbright in Armenia, that one of my MBA students from the American University of Armenia came into my office upset and puzzled by something he'd been reading for my class.
He'd re
ad two passages taken from a book called The New Protectionism by Tim Lang and Colin Hines. Opponents of free trade, Lang and Hines believe that global trade should be restricted in order to encourage greater regional self-sufficiency. Here are the passages:
He'd re
ad two passages taken from a book called The New Protectionism by Tim Lang and Colin Hines. Opponents of free trade, Lang and Hines believe that global trade should be restricted in order to encourage greater regional self-sufficiency. Here are the passages:
"Trade...
Are "Sweatshops" Bad? Maybe It Depends of Where You Are Living
I remember well the afternoon, during my Fulbright in Armenia, that one of my MBA students from the American University of Armenia came into my office upset and puzzled by something he'd been reading for my class.
He'd re
ad two passages taken from a book called The New Protectionism by Tim Lang and Colin Hines. Opponents of free trade, Lang and Hines believe that global trade should be restricted in order to encourage greater regional self-sufficiency. Here are the passages:
He'd re
ad two passages taken from a book called The New Protectionism by Tim Lang and Colin Hines. Opponents of free trade, Lang and Hines believe that global trade should be restricted in order to encourage greater regional self-sufficiency. Here are the passages:
"Trade...
Externalities, Noisy Kids, and the Coase Theorem
From the way this video from 20/20 begins, you'll think that the Coase Theorem is a Nobel fraud, as you watch no one say anything to the out-of-control kids in a restaurant.
But even though none of the other diners gets involved, weighing their own personal benefits against costs, it turns out there is a bargain to be struck after all--though some are not happy about how things turn out.
But even though none of the other diners gets involved, weighing their own personal benefits against costs, it turns out there is a bargain to be struck after all--though some are not happy about how things turn out.
Health-Care Tradeoffs
This brief 20/20 segment takes a quick peek at the single-payer health care system in Canada. Michael Moore makes an appearance.
How Effective Is Foreign Aid in Ending Extreme Global Poverty?
This segment from ABC's 20/20 questions the effectiveness of direct aid toward ending global poverty. Many today question the wisdom of continuing to give foreign aid in the same ways that we have in the past, given that strategy's poor performance.
The video raises many of the same questions considered in Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Worki [image error] ng and How There Is a Better Way for Africa by Dambisa Moyo. Publisher's Weekly says, "In this important analysis of the past fifty years of international (la...
The video raises many of the same questions considered in Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Worki [image error] ng and How There Is a Better Way for Africa by Dambisa Moyo. Publisher's Weekly says, "In this important analysis of the past fifty years of international (la...
Weighing Carefully the Anticipated Benefits and Opportunity Costs of College
This second segment from 20/20 encourages students and their parents to weigh carefully the anticipated benefits against the opportunity costs of pursuing a college degree.
The video makes the point that undergraduate education is not a guarantee of gainful employment or a wage premium, especially in the short term. So choose your major wisely!
The video makes the point that undergraduate education is not a guarantee of gainful employment or a wage premium, especially in the short term. So choose your major wisely!
Creative Destruction
Today I'm collecting a few video segments that have appeared on ABC's 20/20 over the years. Each link will take you directly to the video on the ABC site.
The first dates back to U.S. automakers' lobbying efforts for a bailout--even before the current downturn.
What the segment does best is questions whether government attempts to prop up a sagging (or even dying) part of an economy are in the long-term best interest of all.
The first dates back to U.S. automakers' lobbying efforts for a bailout--even before the current downturn.
What the segment does best is questions whether government attempts to prop up a sagging (or even dying) part of an economy are in the long-term best interest of all.
How to Have Income-Inelastic Demand? Put the Elastic in the Back of the Jeans
According to this report exclusive to NewsHour, a company called Not Your Daughter's Jeans has hit on a jean design that appears to insulate the demand for its product from fluctuations in consumers' incomes.
Paul Solman reports. And it is littered with puns.
Paul Solman reports. And it is littered with puns.
