Economics Online

The Economics of Deepfake Detection: Trust, Verification, and Information Markets

As AI makes fake news and misinformation harder and harder to detect, will consumers and producers begin paying for verification and certification of authenticity? Should governments get involved to re-establish trust in information to soothe roiling markets?

The Rebundling of Higher Education: Platforms, Credentials, and Market Signaling

Since the Great Recession, university education has become increasingly expensive...while degrees hold less and less of a premium in the labor market. Will MOOCs and microcredentials come to replace four-year degrees?

The Productivity Paradox of Remote Work

Many white collar employees love working from home, but many employers feel that they are not getting much bang for their buck. Why is this the case, and what could be done to improve productivity in this remote work era?

The Sharing Economy’s Hidden Costs: From Access to Precarity

Smartphones and apps have made access to services simpler and more convenient than ever. But hidden risks exist for both workers and customers, with independent contractor status meaning workers assume high risks and customers may have little recourse.

The Economics of Creator Burnout: When Attention Becomes a Depleting Resource

Why do so many popular online influencers soar to fame and then virtually vanish, going from vitality to obscurity in months? The economic Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns explains why viral creators quickly lose their luster.

The Sharing Economy’s Hidden Costs: From Access to Precarity

Smartphones and apps have made access to services simpler and more convenient than ever. But hidden risks exist for both workers and customers, with independent contractor status meaning workers assume high risks and customers may have little recourse.

AI Investments Surge: Chipmakers’ Capitalization Jumps $200 Billion

Investor enthusiasm reignited once more after news of more significant fundraising rounds and partnerships in the AI space. The combined market capitalization of leading chip manufacturers increased by $200 billion in one trading session. The surge was attributed to OpenAI announcing a $500 billion valuation, along with announcements of memory

The ROI of Attention: A Micro Model for Paid YouTube Promotion

When musicians buy ad traffilc, they’re not just buying views—they’re buying attention. The real question is whether that attention pays back. In the era of short attention spans and endless content, the winners aren’t those who spend the most, but those who measure their results like

The Economics of NFT Scarcity and Digital Ownership

For a few years, NFTs were all the rage and could sell for millions of dollars. What are NFTs, how did they work, and what are the economic principles behind their rise and fall in the early 2020s?

The Subscription to Everything Economy

More and more digital services, from entertainment to navigation, are becoming subscription-based. Why the trend toward subscriptions? And what are some dangers of rampant subscriptions that consumers should watch out for?

Behavioral Nudges in Sustainable Consumption

How can sellers convince customers to pay more money for options that are better for the environment? A look at behavioral nudges and why companies would be willing to use them in an effort to promote sustainability.

The Economics of Algorithmic Curation in News and Media

Today, most social media platforms allow for continuous scrolling of content. Algorithms determine which posts and videos we see next, based on our past engagement. What are the economic implications of these algorithms determining what we see?

The Gig Economy of Cloud Kitchens

When you open a food delivery app for a meal brought straight to you, do you ever see brand you don't recognize? These are likely ghost kitchens, which exist without storefronts. How do they operate, and why have they become so popular over the last decade?

The Economics of Quiet Quitting: Labor Supply Meets Workplace Incentives

In recent years, the phenomenon of "quiet quitting" has risen among younger Millenial and Gen Z workers. They don't leave dissatisfying jobs, but instead resort to doing the bare minimum. What has happened, and why?

Business economics

Why Do HVAC Businesses Need Specialist Finance? Seasonality and Working Capital Explained

HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) businesses need specialist finance because their costs are steady while their revenue is highly seasonal, creating predictable cash shortfalls that general lenders often misread as signs of weakness. Summer brings more cooling work than many firms can handle, while quieter months bring far less,

finance

The Life-Cycle Hypothesis and the Economics of Saving for Retirement

The life-cycle hypothesis is the economic theory that people try to keep their living standards roughly steady over their lifetime, saving when income is high and drawing on savings when it falls, most notably in retirement. It provides the foundation for understanding how people save for retirement: deciding how much

The Attention Economy and Cognitive Scarcity

We can't pay attention to everything, so sellers will pay good money to win our attention to their advertisements. This has led to the rise of social media influencers, who are paid to draw our attention. Has this led to economic harms from our eroding attention spans?

Dynamic Pricing in Sports and Entertainment

Over the past decade, dynamic pricing has expanded as we purchase everything from food to transportation to entertainment online. When variables change around us, sellers can raise or lower prices to maximize revenue given our fluctuating demand. Is this ethical?

The Economics of Short-Term Rentals vs. Hotels

Most consumers are familiar with the popular short-term rental apps Airbnb and Vrbo. What caused their rapid rise in the vacation market? Why has that market cooled in recent years, swinging demand back to hotels?

Innovation & Technology

Why Are AI CRMs Hard to Leave? Switching Costs Explained

An AI CRM is customer relationship management software that uses artificial intelligence to analyse customer data, forecast sales and automate tasks such as drafting emails or answering queries. As more firms adopt these tools, an established economic idea is becoming more relevant: switching costs, meaning the costs a buyer faces

Business economics

How Does Home Insurance Work? Risk Pooling and Adverse Selection Explained

Home insurance is a contract in which a household pays a regular premium in return for financial protection against damage to its property (buildings cover) and its possessions (contents cover). Its economics rest on two ideas: risk pooling, which makes insurance possible, and adverse selection, which explains why some homes

Is AI Good for Business Finances? A Cost–Benefit Analysis

AI is generally good for business finances when its gains in productivity and cost savings outweigh the less visible risks it creates, including data protection fines, reputational damage and weaker demand. Economists judge this balance using cost–benefit analysis, which compares the expected gains from a decision with its expected

Business economics

Why Do Businesses Outsource Telemarketing? A Comparative Advantage Explanation

Telemarketing is the promotion or sale of goods and services by telephone, and in business-to-business (B2B) markets it is mainly used to generate sales leads and book meetings. Many firms now outsource this work to specialist agencies rather than using their own staff. The economic principle that best explains this

Labour markets

The Economics of the Tech Talent Shortage

The tech talent shortage is the persistent gap between the number of skilled technology workers employers want and the number available. Demand has grown fast, supply has adjusted slowly, and the result has been high salaries, long-running vacancies and a range of institutions that match employers with workers. Why Demand

Business economics

How AI Agents Cut Costs for Small Businesses

An AI agent is software that can carry out tasks on its own, such as answering customer queries, updating records or reordering stock, without step-by-step instructions from a person. For small businesses, the appeal is mainly economic. Firms that leverage AI to streamline operations change the mix of inputs they