The late Milton Friedman once quipped that if the federal government were put in charge of the Sahara Desert, there would be a shortage of sand within five years. Similar skepticism about government led President Ronald Reagan to say in…
Social media platforms like Facebook rely on a targeted-ad business model, which generates revenue by using detailed behavioral information to direct ads to individual members. That bland description fails to convey even a hint of the profound threat this business…
Holiday gatherings, the COVID-19 surge, and the sunk cost fallacy: Why you should cancel your Thanksgiving travel plans even though you’ve already purchased non-refundable air tickets. Coronavirus cases are surging out of control. In many states, hospital beds are nearly…
Several of my students wondered how fully cooked rotisserie chickens could be so much cheaper than fresh uncooked chickens. Since rotisserie chickens involve extra labor, additional energy use, and the cost of the broiler itself, shouldn’t they be more expensive?…
Cornell Professor Robert Frank’s most recent book, Under the Influence: Putting Peer Pressure to Work, is about behavioral contagion—the tendency for ideas and behaviors to spread from person to person much like contagious diseases. With live gatherings on hold, Cornell…
Economist and Author Robert H Frank shares "Economic Naturalist" Tweets. Follow threads of insightful discourse prompted by everyday questions with economic answers.