Economy
Discover facts about economy. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Economy
Outsider solutions get instantly rejected by fragile egos
The outside team may have a good fix, but an organization can dismiss it before trying it just because it wasn’t invented in-house.
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Perfectly rational human beings simply do not exist
Economics has a perfectly calculating character who always chooses the best option. Real people can be emotional, impulsive, and ordering an expensive latte…
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Height has an earnings premium—even outside basketball
Studies have found a link between adult height and earnings. That doesn't mean extra inches produce better work: childhood health, social treatment, and the…
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Why overpaying workers can make them work harder
Paying more can make a job harder to risk. Under the efficiency-wage theory, workers who fear losing a well-paid position have a stronger reason to work hard.
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Why staying uninformed can be rational
You could spend an hour finding out, or make a guess and move on. If the answer isn’t valuable enough to justify the search, the guess is the rational choice.
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Why job ads demand impossible experience
Some employers list years of experience even for an entry-level job because the requirement can work as a filter. Applicants who don't have those years may…
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The currency that survived its dictator
Kurdish communities kept spending the old dinars even after Saddam’s government declared them invalid. With no new notes coming off the presses, each…
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India's hidden gold reserve is in women's jewelry boxes
Wedding customs and mistrust of banks have helped keep an estimated 21,000 tons of gold in Indian women's jewelry collections. A vast private reserve sits in…
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Stuart Semple barred Anish Kapoor from buying his pink paint
Vantablack’s creators gave Anish Kapoor exclusive artistic rights to use it. Rival artist Stuart Semple answered by making the “pinkest pink” and barring…
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A grave can come with an expiration date
In France, municipal burial concessions can be sold for limited terms, including 30 or 50 years, rather than forever. Families may need to renew them, and…
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Why rookie athletes can't name their price
A top college player can enter the pros and still have little power to negotiate a first salary. League rookie wage scales cap what drafted newcomers can…
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Bubble Wrap began as wallpaper nobody wanted
In 1957, Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes trapped air between plastic sheets while trying to make a textured wall covering. The successful market turned out…
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Why new guitars are deliberately beaten up
Makers scratch, dent, and rust new electric guitars to make them look decades old, then charge a premium for the “relic” finish. Buyers pay extra for a guitar…
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An arm-wrestling trophy can cost as much to win as it pays
In a profile of champion Allen Fisher, his wife Carolyn described trips costing about $500 when first prize might be $500 or $600. They sometimes entered…
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A sample dispute swallowed Bitter Sweet Symphony's royalties
The Verve licensed a sample from an orchestral recording of a Rolling Stones song, but a dispute over its use redirected the songwriting income and added…
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Harvard gave Benjamin Franklin a degree without making him a student
His honorary Master of Arts, awarded in 1753, is considered Harvard's first true honorary degree. Such awards recognize achievement rather than completion of…
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Why songwriters get fractions of a penny
A stream can sound like a tiny payment because it is one: songwriters earn mechanical royalties when music is streamed or reproduced, and each payment may be…
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New York developers can buy the air above buildings
A developer can pay a neighbor for building space the neighbor isn’t using. Those air rights add to the project’s allowable area, letting the new building…
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Sherlock Holmes finally entered the public domain
A creator in the United States can now use Sherlock Holmes without sending the estate a check. The last of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories entered the…
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NFL cheerleaders took their unpaid hours to court
In 2014, the Oakland Raiders agreed to a $1.25 million settlement covering 90 cheerleaders. Their lawsuit said pay of $125 per home game failed to cover…
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A darts prize check isn't a player's take-home pay
Professional Matthew Edgar shared a remittance showing deductions from his advertised winnings. Membership costs, travel, hotels, and tax further reduced what…
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Minor leaguers won a deal that more than doubled their pay
In March 2023, minor-league baseball players reached their first collective bargaining agreement. According to their union, it more than doubled salaries at…
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The hit songs written by producers you never see
Ghost producers write and mix tracks, then sell all rights to famous DJs for a flat fee, staying behind the scenes while the DJ gets the spotlight.
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Why Ping-Pong is officially called table tennis
Parker Brothers owned the Ping-Pong trademark in the 1920s. Tournament organizers and equipment makers used table tennis instead, so they could name the sport…
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