◆ ARTICLES
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379 articles on personal finance, investing, and the economy: filter by topic, sort, or search for the one you came for.
379 articles · page 1 of 23
◆ Spotlight
◆ MARKET FAILURES
Pigouvian Subsidy: Paying for the Benefits Others Provide
A Pigouvian subsidy is a payment to producers or consumers of goods with positive externalities, set equal to the marginal external benefit.
- A Pigouvian subsidy is a per-unit payment set equal to the marginal external benefit, bringing private MR up to social MR and closing the underproduction gap
- It corrects positive externalities by subsidizing activities whose full social value exceeds their private value
- Common examples: education subsidies, vaccination incentives, R&D tax credits, and electric vehicle purchase credits
◆ BUDGETING & SAVING
How to Build an Emergency Fund — And Where to Keep It
An emergency fund is the foundation of every financial plan — the buffer that keeps one bad month from becoming a financial crisis. Here's exactly how to build one.
◆ APPLIED ECONOMICS
Healthcare as a Market: Why the Economics of Medicine Break Every Standard Model
U.S. health spending hit $5.3 trillion in 2024. Three features break the standard market: asymmetric information, third-party payment, and inelastic demand.
◆ INTERNATIONAL TRADE
The Hidden Tax: How Quotas and Non-Tariff Barriers Really Work
Tariffs announce themselves. Quotas, standards, and red tape don't, and that invisibility is exactly what makes them so effective and so costly.
◆ ECONOMICS FUNDAMENTALS
The Best Economics Books for Non-Economists
The best economics books for people who never took the class — accessible guides from Wheelan and Sowell, plus Freakonomics and the source texts from Smith and Friedman.
◆ COMPETITION & MONOPOLY
How a Monopolist Sets Its Price: Less Output, Higher Cost
A monopolist raises prices by producing less, not by charging more for the same output. Here is the arithmetic behind why.
◆ MACRO
What Is Inflation?
The increase in the general price level of goods and services over time, reducing purchasing power. Understanding inflation is critical for financial planning.
◆ SUPPLY & DEMAND
Normal vs. Inferior Goods: How Income Changes What You Buy
Normal goods see demand rise when income rises; inferior goods see demand fall. The distinction reveals how consumption patterns shift as living standards…
◆ CONSUMER THEORY
Budget Constraint: The Line That Defines What You Can Afford
A budget constraint shows all the combinations of goods a consumer can afford given their income and prices.
◆ IMPERFECT COMPETITION
Advertising Isn't Just Persuasion. Here Is What It Actually Does to Markets.
The belief that advertising only manipulates is incomplete. Economists find it also carries real information, signals quality, and can sharpen competition.
◆ FACTOR MARKETS
Profit as the Return to Risk: What Economic Profit Really Measures
Economic profit subtracts opportunity cost - including what your money and time could have earned elsewhere. Here is why it differs from accounting profit.
◆ DATA & INDICATORS
Headline vs. Core Inflation: Which Number Should You Watch?
Headline inflation hit 4.2% in May 2026; core sat at 2.9%. Here is why they split, and which one belongs on your radar.
◆ BUDGETING & SAVING
What Is 'Pay Yourself First'?
A savings strategy where automatic transfers to savings happen immediately upon income arrival.
◆ SUPPLY & DEMAND
Tax Incidence: Who Actually Pays the Tax?
Tax incidence describes the economic burden of a tax — who actually bears the cost, which may differ from who is legally required to pay it.
◆ INVESTING BASICS
Stocks, Bonds, and Funds: What You Actually Own When You Invest
Stocks are ownership. Bonds are loans. Funds bundle both. Here's how each works, why the tradeoff matters, and what most people should actually hold.
◆ ECONOMICS FUNDAMENTALS
Marginal Analysis: The One-More-Unit Rule That Drives Every Rational Decision
Marginal analysis compares the additional benefit and additional cost of one more unit of an action.
◆ INCOME & INEQUALITY
The Gini Coefficient and the Lorenz Curve: Measuring Inequality in a Single Number
The Gini coefficient compresses a whole income distribution into one number between 0 and 1. Here's what it measures, how to compute it, and where it misleads.