Economy
Discover facts about economy. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Economy
Why higher tax rates can bring in less money
Raise taxes high enough and some people may work less or hide income. The government then has a smaller pool of earnings to tax, so it can collect less…
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Before certifications, guilds used threats
A blacksmith who opened a shop without a guild’s approval could face fines, have equipment destroyed or be driven out. Guilds didn’t just award credentials;…
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Why some companies pay workers in stock
A share of a worker’s pay can rise or fall with the company’s stock. If that worker also relies on company shares for retirement, both paycheck and nest egg…
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Why corporate ethics scores can be manipulated
A polluter can hire consultants to make its ethics paperwork look better while continuing to dump toxins. The score can improve even as the dumping goes on.
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How limited liability shields owners from company debts
If the business collapses, its owners generally lose what they put into it—not automatically their homes, cars, or savings. That limit on personal risk is…
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Flat taxation models disproportionately punish working class
A flat tax takes the same percentage from a nurse’s paycheck and a billionaire’s income. But the lower earner has less left after essentials, so that…
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When strikes were met with private armies
When workers struck, some industrialists paid armed detective agencies to break the strike. The agencies infiltrated labor groups, then turned a dispute over…
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Why stagnant jobs get more expensive
A lecture still takes about as long as it did centuries ago, but professors’ wages rose as the rest of the industrial economy got more productive.…
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Why hard work doesn't set a product's price
A mud pie can take hours to make and still be worth little if nobody wants to buy it. The buyer's demand, not the maker's effort alone, sets its value.
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A market panic can make other people's selling your problem
A falling price can trigger margin calls, forcing investors to sell assets to meet demands for cash. Those sales can push prices lower and set off another…
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Price's law began with scientific papers, not office gossip
The rule of thumb proposes that roughly the square root of a field's authors produce half its published output. It describes highly uneven productivity in…
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Britain implemented an unpopular tax on friction matches
In 1871, the government put a duty on friction matches—an everyday item, not a luxury. Matchgirls protested, and the tax became a political flashpoint.
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A poison pill makes a takeover harder by diluting the buyer
A shareholder-rights plan can let other shareholders acquire more stock when an unwanted buyer crosses a threshold. The buyer's existing stake then represents…
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Why corporations can claim constitutional rights
Courts can recognize a corporation’s constitutional rights, including rights tied to political spending. The odd boundary is physical: a company can face…
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Middle managers frequently refuse adult workplace duties
When a team fails, a manager can point to a subordinate and dodge accountability—without giving up the authority to run the team. The people below take the…
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Human development metrics intentionally challenge rigid GDP
A country's output alone cannot tell you how long people live or how much schooling they get. The Human Development Index includes life expectancy and…
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Multinationals deliberately relocate jobs for cheaper labor
A company can close a profitable local facility if it can move production somewhere labor costs less. In some cases, the new workforce has fewer legal…
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How right-to-work laws can weaken unions
Union-negotiated benefits can reach employees who pay no union dues. Right-to-work laws allow that arrangement, so the union may have less money to organize…
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How popes gave us the word nepotism
Popes could place nephews and other relatives in powerful jobs, keeping influence close to home. That habit gave us the word nepotism.
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A job can be busy and still feel pointless to its worker
David Graeber's idea of “bullshit jobs” focused on people who believed their own work contributed little but had to pretend otherwise. Activity and perceived…
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The companies built to own other companies
A holding company can own several subsidiaries without making anything itself. It holds their assets and collects dividends, leaving the actual production to…
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Pennsylvania's temporary tax that lasted nearly a century
Pennsylvania created the liquor tax to pay for flood recovery. The rebuilding ended, but the tax kept bringing in revenue—and stayed on the books for nearly a…
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Missing wages can add up to billions without a single burglary
A 2017 Economic Policy Institute study examined minimum-wage violations in ten populous US states and estimated losses of more than $8 billion a year there.…
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America repealed its first income tax—then brought it back
The federal government introduced an income tax to help fund the Civil War and repealed it in 1872. Today's system developed later, with the Sixteenth…
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