A Discussion of “The Historical Production (and Consumption) of Unsustainability” My last couple of stories have examined the unsustainability of our diet, Can We Keep Eating Like This? …and an escape from the unsustainability of our agricultural practices. Why We Need Regenerative Agriculture Today, I want to examine unsustainability itself….
Regenerative Agriculture
Why We Need Regenerative Agriculture
A discussion of “Why Regenerative Agriculture?” Writing previously about the un-sustainability of our Western Dietary Pattern has inspired me to look more into how we got here today. We saw the WDP as the cheapest way to eat, but also the least healthy and the most damaging to the environment….
Regenerative Agriculture
Can We Keep Eating Like This?
A discussion of: “Global Sustainability (health, environment and monetary costs) of Three Dietary Patterns: Results from a Spanish Cohort (the SUN project)” The CDC reports that over 40% of American adults are obese, which means a BMI of 30 or higher. Now, we can argue about the BMI as a metric, but…
Macroeconomics
Have We Found the Money Tree?
A discussion of “A Skeptic’s Guide to Modern Monetary Theory” A sexy new economic theory appeared in the last few years promising us that government debt really is nothing to worry about. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) says a nation that spends, taxes and borrows in a fiat currency they control…
Teaching
Do Teachers Need to Teach “Digital Natives” Differently?
A Discussion of “Bridging the Teacher-Student Divide: A Multimedia Approach to Reach Digital Native Learners” I like to think of ways to teach that will make the experience more engaging for both the students and myself. The crux of the problem is the gap between teaching and learning. Me standing…
Economic Thought
It Was Never Only About Profits
A Discussion “The Social Responsibility of Business: Milton Friedman Reconsidered” As an economics professor, I know I have some misconceptions to overcome every semester a new crop of students appear in my intro microeconomics course. Economics is about greed. It is immoral. Capitalism is bad. Elrick and Thies (2018) offer…
Microeconomics
Do Women Choose to Earn Less?
A discussion of “The Role of Firms in Gender Earnings Inequality” and “Ranking Firms Using Revealed Preferences” Do women earn less than men because of discrimination? Or are they making choices that lead to lower pay? Why on earth would someone choose lower pay? Because the lower pay may come with…
Macroeconomics
Consumer Reaction to the Pandemic Shutdown Shock
A Discussion “Initial Impacts of the Pandemic on Consumer Behavior” Here is an early look at the impact on consumers’ income, spending and savings behavior from the dreadful economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic and shutdown. As an economist, I never would have said it was possible to shut down…
Economic Thought
Capitalism: Value, People, and Planet
A discussion of “Revisiting the Purpose of Business” I am an economist and a lot of what drew me to the field early on is the Adam Smith story of the Invisible Hand. Briefly, it is the idea that our self-interested nature is channeled, as if by an all-knowing Invisible…
Microeconomics
Bigger Firms used to Mean Bigger Paychecks but not Anymore
A Discussion of “The Productivity-Wage Premium: Does the Size Still Matter in a Service Economy?” We turn today to another piece in the puzzle of determining why it seems income inequality has grown in the United States in recent decades. Knowing why a variable is trending a certain way makes…