◆ THE ECONOMY
Global & Applied
Economics in the wild — trade, inequality, and the markets that shape daily life.
39 articles
FeaturedTrade Doesn't Cost Jobs — It Moves Them. Here's the Evidence.
The idea that imports destroy jobs and trade is zero-sum is intuitive, persistent, and wrong in the aggregate — but the real story is more honest than either…
Read more →Browse Global & Applied
Deep Dives
◆ APPLIED ECONOMICS
Housing Markets: What Happens When Supply Can't Keep Up With Where People Want to Live
Home prices have outrun incomes for years. The reason is inelastic supply: housing takes years to build, and zoning caps it where demand is highest.
◆ APPLIED ECONOMICS
Thinking Like an Economist: The Mental Frameworks That Stay With You
You'll forget the equations. What stays is five tools — opportunity cost, marginal thinking, incentives, trade-offs, equilibrium — that improve every decision.
◆ INCOME & INEQUALITY
How Income Is Distributed in the United States: A Data-Led Look
The top fifth of U.S. households takes about half of all income; the bottom fifth gets roughly 3%. What the Census data shows, and what it leaves out.
◆ INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Comparative Advantage: The Principle Behind Every Trade Relationship on Earth
Comparative advantage explains why two parties gain from trade even when one is better at everything. The math is opportunity cost, at every scale.
◆ INCOME & INEQUALITY
Should the Government Redistribute Income? The Economics of Taxes, Transfers, and Trade-Offs
The case for redistribution is real — so are the costs. Here is what the economics actually says about progressive taxes, transfers, the EITC, and the…
◆ INCOME & INEQUALITY
What Drives Income Inequality? The Economics Behind the Gap
The top 1% earned 12.4% of all U.S. wages in 2023, up from 7.3% in 1979. Here are the five forces actually driving the gap — led by the data.
◆ INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Inside Non-Tariff Barriers: Quotas, Standards, and the Hidden Costs of Trade Protection
Tariffs are visible taxes. Quotas, standards, and red tape are quieter — and often costlier, handing the markup to foreigners instead of your treasury.
◆ INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Trade Policy, Jobs, and the Political Economy of Protection
If economists agree trade grows the pie, why is protection so popular? Gains are spread thin, losses concentrated — and politics rewards the loud.
◆ APPLIED ECONOMICS
Environmental Economics: Pricing the Planet and the Policy Math Behind Climate Action
Carbon is the textbook negative externality. The fix is a price — a carbon tax or cap-and-trade — set against the EPA's $190-per-ton social cost of carbon.
Quick Answers
Tariff: The Tax That Makes Imports More Expensive
A tariff is a tax on imported goods. It raises import prices, protects domestic producers, generates government revenue — and reduces total welfare by…
Read more →Import Quota: The Quantity Limit on Foreign Goods
An import quota is a legal limit on the quantity of a foreign good that can be imported. Like a tariff, it raises domestic prices and protects domestic…
Read more →Gains from Trade: Why Exchange Makes Everyone Richer
Gains from trade are the increases in total production and consumption that occur when countries specialize according to comparative advantage and exchange…
Read more →Terms of Trade: The Exchange Rate Between Exports and Imports
Terms of trade is the ratio of export prices to import prices. When it rises, a country can buy more imports per unit of exports — a welfare gain.
Read more →Transfer Payment: Income Without a Corresponding Production Requirement
A transfer payment is a government payment to an individual not in exchange for a good or service.
Read more →Means-Tested Programs: Targeting Benefits to Those Who Need Them Most
Means-tested programs provide benefits only to individuals or households below an income or asset threshold.
Read more →Comparative Advantage: Why Countries Trade Even When One Is Better at Everything
Comparative advantage is the ability to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than a trading partner.
Read more →Cap-and-Trade: Using Markets to Cut Pollution Efficiently
Cap-and-trade sets a total limit on emissions, distributes tradeable permits up to that cap, and lets firms buy and sell permits based on their individual…
Read more →Trade Surplus and Trade Deficit: What They Mean and What They Don't
A trade surplus means a country exports more than it imports; a deficit means it imports more than it exports.
Read more →