OSU Alumni Magazine

The current issue (Spring 2018) of Ohio State’s alumni magazine has a two page interview with me (click here for the online version).  Alumni were asked to send in any kind of question about the economy.  My favorite question was by Kamilah King class of 2011, who asked “What are some of the basic economics concepts or principles that you wish students were taught before attending college?”

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Should We Get Rid of the Penny?

Today’s Wall Street Journal (March. 19, 2017, page R1; online version is here) printed  an article I wrote.  They asked me to be part of a debate on “Should the U.S. Retire the Penny and Nickel?”  I took the “no” side.  This is a follow on article from the piece I wrote for TheConversation back in August 2017 (see the original piece here) that advocated the same idea.  Because of space limits the Wall Street Journal edited down my piece.  Below is the unedited version: Continue reading

What is March Madness – and the nonprofit that manages the mayhem?

The annual college basketball spectacle known as March Madness has arrived.  Millions of people will tune in to the three-week tournament to see who’s the best team in the U.S. And millions more will wager a few bucks to take part in an office pool in which they try to pick the winner. Even presidents have been known to take part in the madness.  But behind the hype is a lot of cash. Just as journalists are trained to follow the money, so are economists like me. So let’s take a closer look. Continue reading