When the NHL announced it would return with playoff hockey, analysts took to TV and social media with their professional analyses. In this blog post, we ask a question you won’t see covered by the sports analysts: How unequal are the salaries among NHL players? At the end of the post, our team at Econ … Continue reading NHL Salary Inequality
Author: Robin Bade
Hand Sanitizer on Tap
Breweries and distilleries from small operations like Bluegrass Distillers in Lexington, Kentucky, to giants like AB inBev, maker of Budweiser Beer, are working to provide hand sanitizer to hospitals and other first responders during the coronavirus pandemic. Back in January 2020, you could have added a case of Purell hand sanitizer to your Amazon cart … Continue reading Hand Sanitizer on Tap
The COVID-induced Hertz Bankruptcy
Personal protective equipment, government-issued relief programs, protests, hospital overflows, and social distancing are just a few of effects we’ve seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. But we can add one more devastation to the list—the bankruptcy of Hertz, the major car rental firm. What was the market structure? The rental car market was dominated by a … Continue reading The COVID-induced Hertz Bankruptcy
The Biggest Fall in GDP the UK has Ever Seen
Data published today by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the first to show the devastating effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the lockdown measures taken in March to limit transmission of the virus. Having shrunk by 6 percent in March, real GDP fell by 20.4 percent in April, when it stood … Continue reading The Biggest Fall in GDP the UK has Ever Seen
Aggregate Effects of COVID-19 on the U.S. Economy
The COVID-19 pandemic was having a devastating effect on the U.S. economy in the second quarter of 2020, but its effects were already visible in the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) report of U.S. GDP in the first quarter. Real GDP decreased and the price level rose. In this post, we explain what happened using … Continue reading Aggregate Effects of COVID-19 on the U.S. Economy
COVID-19 Yeast Shortage
Dry yeast flew off shelves during coronavirus pantry stocking. Questions What is yeast? Did the yeast shortage arise because of a change in demand or a change in supply? Are yeast producers increasing the supply of yeast to eliminate the shortage? Explain. The news article lists some substitutes for yeast. Give an example of one … Continue reading COVID-19 Yeast Shortage
The Market for Meat
Those Memorial Day burgers will cost more this year. Questions According to the news article, how can people get “more bang for their buck” in the meat market this Memorial Day weekend? How has the demand for meat changed during the pandemic? Why? How has the supply of meat changed during the pandemic? Why? Is … Continue reading The Market for Meat
COVID-19 Pasta Price Shock
We were told to stay home and isolate whenever possible. In response, many of us sought our favorite comfort foods and shopped at grocery stores more than ever. In this post, we look at the market for this author’s preferred isolation meal: pasta. What happened to demand? Governments the world over prevented consumers from entering … Continue reading COVID-19 Pasta Price Shock
COVID-19 and Price Gouging
Have you noticed the prices of things you buy increase during the coronavirus pandemic? News articles have reported price gouging on toilet paper and personal protective equipment in the U.S., numerous essential items in the U.K., and several other goods worldwide. What is price gouging? Price gouging is the practice of offering to sell an … Continue reading COVID-19 and Price Gouging
26 Million Jobs Lost
Deluge Continues: 26 Million Jobs Lost in Just 5 Weeks Questions In which sector of the economy were job losses initially concentrated? During the COVID-19 pandemic, is there a movement along the production function, a shift of the production function or a movement below the production function? During the COVID-19 pandemic, is there a decrease … Continue reading 26 Million Jobs Lost