Longevity Center in Perth, Ontario

What has changed in the lives (and pattern of death) of American women and men?

I was so much intrigued by Paul Krugman's tweet that I thought I would dig a bit deeper. Knowing that life expectancy differs significantly between men and women, I wanted to see how the picture would look like if one looks at the same difference to the OECD average, but by gender. And I must say I … Continue reading What has changed in the lives (and pattern of death) of American women and men?

America, Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco (SFMOMA), June 2016

Aging in the United States

A tweet by Paul Krugman, 2008 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, on December 31, 2017 caught my attention. As life expectancy is such an important factor in determining the pace of aging in the population, I thought the United States should have a very distinct population aging pattern. Hence, after looking at aging in Japan, … Continue reading Aging in the United States

July 29, 2013 protest at McDonald's in New York City. Photo by Annette Bernhardt

Minimum Wage Policy in the United States

The introduction of minimum wages in the United States The early 1930s were the years of the Great Depression, an economic recession that affected  the United States as well as most of the European metropolises. This crisis led many countries to enact social policies or reevaluate those in place to protect workers and stimulate the industry. … Continue reading Minimum Wage Policy in the United States

Rational Addiction to Heroin and Other Drugs

In Summary A popular approach that economists take to study the use of illegal drugs is the concept of rational addiction. The idea is that individuals willingly choose to consume heroin and other drugs, as they would do with food, goods or services. While this idea is controversial, it allows both researchers and policymakers to … Continue reading Rational Addiction to Heroin and Other Drugs