In this paper, we analyze the economic structure of the world of wizards as depicted in the Harry Potter books, which we term Potterian economy, and offer an economist's perspective on it. We look at the economic structure of the life of Harry Potter and his co-actors as an economic model that...

If producers have more information than consumers about goods' attributes, then they may use non-price (rather than price) adjustment mechanisms and, consequently, the market may reach a new equilibrium even if prices remain sticky. We study a situation where producers adjust the quantity (per...

If producers have more information than consumers about goods' attributes, then they may use non-price (rather than price) adjustment mechanisms and, consequently, the market may reach a new equilibrium even if prices don't change. We study a situation where producers adjust the quantity per...

There is evidence that 9-ending prices are more common and more rigid than other prices. We use data from three sources: a laboratory experiment, a field study, and a large U.S. supermarket chain, to study the cognitive underpinning and the ensuing asymmetry in rigidity associated with 9-ending...

Economic organization of the imaginary worlds depicted in popular literary works may be viewed as a mirror to public opinion on the economic organization of life. If a book becomes a bestseller, it is because the book conveys messages, feelings, and events the readers can relate to. In other...

We test the predictions of the sticky information model using a survey dataset by comparing shoppers’ accuracy in recalling the prices of regulated and comparable unregulated products. Because regulated product prices are capped, they are sold more than comparable unregulated products, while...

Many experimental studies report that economics students tend to act more selfishly than students of other disciplines, a finding that received widespread public and professional attention. Two main explanations that the existing literature offers for the differences found in the behavior...

We study Israel’s “price rounding regulation” of January 1, 2014, which outlawed non-0-ending prices, forcing retailers to round 9-ending prices, which in many stores comprised 60%+ of all prices. The regulation’s goals were to eliminate (1) the rounding tax—the extra amount consumers...

We report the results of surveys we conducted in the US and Israel in 2020, a time when many prices increased following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. To assess respondents’ fairness perceptions of price increases, we focus on goods whose prices have increased during the pandemic,...

We test the predictions of the sticky information model using a survey dataset by comparing the shoppers’ accuracy in recalling the prices of regulated and comparable unregulated products. Regulated product prices change less frequently, vary less across stores and between brands, and are sold...