◆ THE ECONOMY
Global & Applied
Economics in the wild — trade, inequality, and the markets that shape daily life.
37 articles
◆ THE COVER STORYTariff: The Tax That Makes Imports More ExpensiveA tariff is a tax on imported goods. It raises import prices, protects domestic producers, generates government revenue — and reduces total welfare by…Read the breakdown →Deep Dives
◆ APPLIED ECONOMICS
Platform Economics: Two-Sided Markets, Network Effects, and Why Winner-Takes-Most
Platforms connect two groups and grow more valuable as each grows. Network effects explain why these markets tip toward one giant — and draw antitrust fights.
◆ 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.
◆ 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.
◆ 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.
◆ INCOME & INEQUALITY
How Income Is Distributed in the United States
The top fifth of U.S. households takes about half of all income; the bottom fifth gets roughly 3%. What Census data shows, and what it leaves out.
◆ INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Trade Policy, Jobs, and the Political Economy of Protection
Economists agree free trade grows the pie. Why is protection so popular? Gains are spread thin, losses concentrated, and politics rewards the loud.
◆ INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Trade 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…
◆ 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.
◆ INCOME & INEQUALITY
How Poverty Is Measured — and Why the Method Matters
The U.S. official poverty line was built from a 1963 food-budget formula. Here are the real questions people ask about how poverty is defined, measured, and…
Quick Answers
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 →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 →Protectionism: Shielding Domestic Industries from Foreign Competition
Protectionism is the use of trade barriers — tariffs, quotas, subsidies, and regulations — to shield domestic industries from foreign competition.
Read more →Progressive vs. Regressive Tax: How the Burden Changes With Income
A progressive tax takes a larger percentage of income from higher earners; a regressive tax takes a larger percentage from lower earners.
Read more →Lorenz Curve: Visualizing Income Inequality
The Lorenz curve plots the cumulative share of income held by cumulative income percentiles.
Read more →Switching Costs: The Friction That Keeps Customers Locked In
Switching costs are the costs a buyer incurs when changing from one supplier or product to another.
Read more →Income Distribution: How a Country's Income Is Divided
Income distribution describes how total national income is divided among households and individuals.
Read more →Absolute vs. Comparative Advantage: The Distinction That Explains Trade
Absolute advantage is the ability to produce more of a good with the same inputs. Comparative advantage is the ability to produce at lower opportunity cost.
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