Economic Logic

Conspiracy theorists have a field day whenever official statistics look conveniently better just before elections. Whether statistics are re...

We all know politicians lie, no surprise here. What we do not quite know is how and why they lie. Indeed, they generally do not tell outrigh...

You may think that accounting practices are straightforward and have been in place for a long time. Actually, good practices are actually fa...

I have complained several times on this blog about how the American Economic Association is run, particularly how its executive and committe...

Many people avoid investing in certain types of firms they associate with unethical or sinful behavior. That would include tobacco companies...

It is commonplace to assume that corruption is bad, although the evidence is far from clear about this. Empirical investigations are typica...

Bank runs occur when depositors believe a bank is insolvent. They rush to withdraw their deposits before everyone else as funds dry up. Who ...

Apologizing can be very hard, especially when your pride is hurt. And sometimes one opts for a fake apology, not really meaning it. But this...

Cannibalism within most animal species arises only in extreme circumstances. It is not clear to me why this is less prevalent than intra-spe...

It is well known that journals do not like replications or confirmations of hypotheses. They are looking for the empirical results that cont...

In some countries, kidnapping for ransom has become a common and profitable business. It does not strike as an added-value generating activi...

It is well known that the underground economy in Italy is substantial, and that an important share of this is due to illegal activity. Hence...

It is fair to say people are quite upset that managers are not criminally prosecuted for crimes their businesses do. As the latest case with...

I have had recently the opportunity to chat with a missionary who has been working as a bush doctor in Western Africa. I find it quite admir...

There was a time where auction theory limited itself to studying very simple auction, where the subtleties were whether the first or second...

How would one define corruption. In economic terms, one definition could that two parties engage in a mutually beneficial transaction to the...

Ah, the weather is so nice outside, yet I am stuck inside working. If only I could take a vacation day. But wait, I could declare myself sic...

The biggest waste of public resources probably comes from irregularities in procurement practices. When the bidding process is rigged, or th...

In some countries, especially in Eastern Europe, corruption in educational institutions is a serious issue, to the point that diplomas do no...

Several programs have introduced honor codes, especially MBA programs. Students promise not too copy, plagiarize or otherwise cheat, and in ...