Ask an Economist

Most economists would start to answer this question by asking a question: what is the objective you have in mind, and why? Specifically, what problem are you trying to solve for which the solution is a wealth cap?

[The following guidance provided herein is of a generic nature and derived from overarching principles of economics.

Members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) take a broad range of information into account when forming their economic forecasts, including considering how changes to fiscal policies may affect the economy.  One way to get a sense of

Thanks for asking. This is a good and long-lasting debated question in Economics. As reported, the recent fertility rate in Canada is around 1.4, which is relatively low because the subsistence level is 2.1.

This is an interesting thought experiment. Many factors must be considered, and it is difficult to address them all at once, but here are some important ones.

According to Motoyama, Sadaki, and Watanabe (2016), "on a global scale, the carcass production of Wagyu is quite limited, equivalent to about 2% of beef carcass production in the United States (11,698,479 t) and Brazil (9,675,000 t), 4% of that in

No, it's not possible; that is, the Federal Reserve can always pay IORB.  The reason is simple: unlike an ordinary bank, the Fed's liabilities are in units (dollars) that it creates.  Put differently, unlike a private business, the Fed d

Agricultural land returns on investment do compare favorably to U.S.

Both opinion from you and your friends make sense but there are some important factors missing. The decision of having one more child or not depends on how parents weigh benefit versus the cost associated with that child.

At any point in time, there are *many* bonds traded: a vast majority are bonds that were issued in the past, but have not yet matured, and a relatively small number of bonds are bonds that are being newly issued.

It is certainly true that disposing of milk or other agricultural commodities once produced is inefficient.  The producers receive no income from commodities that are discarded, while there are consumers who would benefit from these commoditi

You have asked an interesting (and open-ended) question to begin with.

Your question relates to what we teach in our Principles of Microeconomics courses: “The Law of Supply.” Indeed, producing 4,000 pounds of apples and charging $4 per pound creates a surplus in this specific market you describe.

The Male Female Wage Gap in Iowa compared to the U.S. by Peter F. Orazem and Levi Soborowicz

The answer is hidden in your question. The company hedges to mitigate risk, to guard against excessive downturns in profit. It “pays” for this risk protection by potentially foregoing some profit. There is of course a risk-return tradeoff.

The question is interesting, provocative, and borderline polemical. Economics is not pure science. In physical science, lab experiments have repeatability and reproducibility.

Think of a bundle of goods bought at $1 in 1928. This bundle would consist of many goods. The average increase in bundle price would be $17.31 in 2022.

I appreciate your sharing your view on a specific policy issue based on the systematic application of economic concepts.

Without a doubt, demand has outpaced supply over the past 18 months.  In labor markets, there are currently 4.9 million more jobs available than there are individuals looking for work (i.e., comparing job openings from the JOLTS release to th