Econ70
The Friday File: Old tennis rackets focused on power and a sweet spot. With new polyester blend strings, topspin is in. For every 100 rpm’s of topspin you reduce distance travelled by 6 to 12 inches. Spin is created three…
Poor families that moved out of bad neighborhoods into mixed-income ones through the use of vouchers, did not show any rise in income level or educational attainment compared to a control group that did not move. Mover families were, however,…
In 2010, the percentage of American adults who were 100 or more pounds overweight, severely obese, was 6.6%, or 15.5 million people, up dramatically from 3.9% a decade earlier, an increase of 70%! While moderate obesity (30 to 100 pounds…
Americans Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shipley won the Nobel Prize in economics for improving how to best match different sets of agents, such as organ donors and recipients, and agents and institutions, such as students with schools and doctors with…
While being in the front has its appeal, when it comes to surviving plane crashes, the back is best. In a recent deliberate plane crash designed to mimic the real thing, dummy-passengers in the front experiences 12 times the force…
The Friday File: In 2011, more newborns were born in August, 360,000, than any other month. July and September were next with 346,000 each. The least most popular month was February with 299,000. In ’11, the most popular names for…
After steadily falling for decades, nonfatal injuries to kids under five rose 12% between ’07 and ’10, based on hospital admissions data. Increases have been across-the-board, ranging from swimming pools to playground equipment to falls from chairs and sofas. Child…
Romney’s proposal works. Cutting tax rates by 20% costs $181 billion. Eliminating the AMT and taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains for couples with incomes below $200,000, and singles below $100,000, costs $38 billion. Filers with AGIs over $100,000…
Despite 114,000 jobs being created in September the unemployment rate plummeted to 7.8% from 8.1%. The unemployment rate is based on a tiny survey of 66,000 households that has a margin of error of 400,000! Moreover, the survey is especially…
The Friday File: As we celebrate Christopher Columbus, note his was a voyage of economics. He was seeking a trade route to transport high value-to-weight items to Europe. Instead, he found the New World and precious metals. Those metals caused…