Even though it is a question that frequently arises, comparing income levels or living standards between different countries is more difficult than people think. And when people don’t understand some of the potential snares involved, they can reach erroneous conclusions…
Plight of the honeybee raises economic questions
There is a lot of economics in an issue that gets little attention from the public: the colony-collapse disorder that is affecting bees in Minnesota along with the rest of the country. At $10 million in value, commercial honey production…
Gas prices fuel talk of big, bad oil producers
Few things cause more generalized public anger than a spike in gasoline prices, as we have seen in recent weeks. This has been especially sharp in Minnesota, and we still are in the unusual position of having prices higher than…
Organ transplant law presents unhealthy outcomes
There is an old legal adage that “hard cases make bad law.” They often result in bad economics, too. That is evident in a recent case of a 10-year-old girl with a lung disease who would be greatly helped by…