Economics for the Intelligent Amateur

We have all heard of Joseph Stiglitz; the Nobel prize winning economist who releases books every now and then. You may also be familiar with his belief in more regulation for the economy and his criticism of President Obama’s rescue plan for the financial industry, famously remarking that whoever came up with it is [...]

No, not of the Groceries variety, but of the mask and cape variety. More specifically: beating evil dictators at their own game.
Those of you who read The Economist or follow our Tweets (conveniently accessible here: @Dumbagent) may have seen how Kim Jong-il was finally forced into an apology thanks to economics.
It seems [...]

For those who live in the EU, there is a nagging question that always seems not far in the back of everyone’s mind, and that is its relevance. People will get defensive or angry (or possibly happy) about it, but few people have no opinion. Having the United States grow into a superpower [...]

The men out there who consider themselves “fashionistas” or at least up to speed on the latest trends will no doubt have heard of Bonobos, the online-only pants store which seems to be doing so well despite the downturn (they’re saying $4million in sales this year).
That’s all good fun, but it has also [...]

Hailing from Switzerland, and being anti-barriers, whether they deal with movement of goods and services or movement of people and cultures, we were disappointed by Switzerland’s recent vote against allowing more minarets in the country. We were even more disappointed at how it became a referendum against muslims and foreigners in general.
It [...]