Ask an Economist
Welcome to Ask an Economist, a public service of the Department of Economics at Iowa State University, designed to answer your economic questions.
Our talented faculty and alumni can answer questions on a variety of economic topics to help you make more informed choices about your day-to-day decisions--or to just add a more reasoned voice when talk of the economy comes up around the dinner table.
Questions & Answers
Projects like temples and pyramids, as with public monuments today, represent a choice about how labor effort in a society is directed. Some labor is required to produce food, shelter and clothing that are necessities for sustaining life.
I am not aware of any restrictions on live animal exports centered on animal welfare concerns. Concerns about animal disease outbreaks and food safety have primarily led to trade restrictions on live animals, meat, and animal products.
Great question! In general, we don’t need a monopsonistic setting to explain crude differentials between WCS and WTI. In a competitive market, prices for the same product (oil, corn, etc.) can diverge in different markets for two reaso
The impact of stockpiling commodities on prices depends on the timeframe. While the stockpiling is occurring, your reasoning is accurate.
Inflation is the natural outcome of price changes brought about by market forces and governmental forces.
Bitcoin itself doesn't affect global financial markets very much now. It has been used with some unlawful activities such as purchasing drug and money laundering.
You could allow the group to report this to the station master and get a Rs. 25 award. You could randomly check buses unannounced. You could offer a bonus to the ticket master for every ticket he has proof of having sold.
The writer has already shown that a good argument can be made either way. There is no correct answer the way the question is framed. The friends will debate the question until the restaurant closes.
The Iowa State University Estimated Livestock Returns (http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/estimated-returns/) provides estimates of cattle finishing and hog production costs and returns.
First, it is important to understand the difference between a few concepts. The demand is a function that describes that the quantity demanded (consumption) declines as the price increases.
I teach an Economics of Sports class here at Iowa State University. In my class, we discuss the economic structure of the NCAA and professional sports leagues in the U.S. You are correct that the NCAA is a cartel and so is a profession
There are really two questions here: (1) what are the causes of economic fluctuations, generally? And (2) what role do wars and military spending play in these fluctuations?
The main problem with your calculation is that you are using as "G" the French government's budgetary expenditure, which most likely includes large transfer payments. Transfer payments are not part of GDP.
This question is in two parts: 1) How prevalent is the requirement for 100% giving of any amount; and 2) Do organizations raise more money if there is a 100% giving expectation?
The answer is no. It is not correct to conclude that Bukina Faso’s economy is supported by only 15% of the population.
Effectively, you are asking: how can there be different prices across countries within the same currency zone?
In the strictest (or standard) sense of the word, you would be correct that game A is “rarer,” given that there are fewer of these in existence than game B.
The American Communities Survey provides information on median household income
This is before taxes and transfers
American Fact Finder
If your company is based in the U.S., the valuation should be based on the standard CAPM.
Let me start by reminding you that GDP is a measure of the total amount of goods and services produced in an economy, say the USA, in a year.
Let me start by saying that I have expertise in the economics of commercial fishing. I cannot speak to whether GDP will increase next year.
GDP is the final $ value of all final goods and services produced in a year.
Social welfare maximization in economics typically refers to the correct allocation of scare resources to agents (firms, individuals) so as to generate the maximum possible utility (or other criterion) for the agents.
Minimum wages are wage floors set by law, not by the market. They, however, are subject to political pressure from citizens.
The question of how demographics relate to economic issues (e.g., poverty, economic growth) has been at the forefront of economics ever since its infancy as a science. For instance, Rev.