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A Park Bench That Tells You You’re Fat?
ByadminClearly we in the United States are not taking the obesity epidemic as seriously as the Russian government. We debate whether it is appropriate for the government to require restaurants to inform their customers about how many calories they are consuming. Whereas in Moscow, sit at a park bench, and it will tell you how…
Action Movies Create Couch Potatoes
ByadminICYMI: When people watch action movies, they consume more calories.
Judging Policies by Their Supporters
ByadminThe world is complicated. It’s hard to know what the federal government should do about a whole range of problems. That’s why most people take a shortcut, and judge policies based on their opinion of the people who support or oppose those policies. If you like someone, and he supports a policy, then you are…
Look Dad – I'm an Economist!
ByadminI recently spoke with a reporter about a new effort, by Medicare, to persuade dialysis centers to care for a wider range of primary care health needs for people with kidney failure. I’ll give you a teaser for that article below, but first want to point out what struck me as the most notable part…
Squat for Your Subway Token: One of the Most Creative Nudges I've Encountered
ByadminThis idea is so crazy it might just be the best one I’ve heard all week: a subway station in Moscow provides free tickets to commuters who stand in front of a monitor and squat or lunge 30 times. I love this idea. Have any of you heard of any other nudges like this? (Click…
What Drives Me Crazy about the Popularity of Behavioral Economics
ByadminA recent article in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, my former hometown newspaper, made the kind of statement that is all too common in popular reporting on behavioral economics: “The idea that we humans are not that smart comes from behavioral economics.” Really? Behavioral economics discovered stupidity? Irrationality? The limits of human intelligence? That is…

