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A Picture Putting Risks into Perspective
The National Health Service in the United Kingdom has recently disseminated a wonderful graphic, helping people understand how likely they are to die from scary things, like war and airplane accidents, versus less terrifying but deadlier hazards, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol: In behavioral economics, we talk about something called the “availability…
On Leadership: Why People Pick Boring Jobs
Would you rather work in a stimulating, challenging job or a routine one filled with mundane repetition? Almost everyone would say they prefer the former. But a new study finds that people typically contradict themselves once salaries enter the decision. If the two jobs pay the same, people often opt to put out less effort, not more….
Free Markets – Madness or Miraculous?
Recently, I got an incredibly nice email from a complete stranger. It began like this: “I am an Economics teacher in England and have just finished reading your wonderful book ‘Free Market Madness’. When you write a book that only 5 people read, it is nice that at least one person thinks it is wonderful….
Want to Avoid Unnecessary Antibiotics? Be Careful What Time of Day You See Your Doctor
Shutterstock Too often, people with viral illness leave the doctor’s office with prescriptions for antibiotics. That’s a real problem. Antibiotics don’t treat viruses, often cause side effects, and when taken too often, lead to drug resistance. So when you have a bad cough and go to the doctor, you should hope to see someone who…
If You Don’t Have Employer Insurance, You Probably Have a High Deductible
Most people in the United States get health insurance either through their employer or through government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. But some people have to find other ways to get healthcare insurance, with an increasing number of people doing so through the Obamacare exchanges, or “marketplaces.” In fact, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation…
What Drives Me Crazy about the Popularity of Behavioral Economics
A 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…