The authors consider the well-known theorem of A. Alchian and W. Allen (1964) that adding a per unit charge to the price of two substitute goods increases the relative consumption of the higher price good. The current literature misspecifies the conditions under which the theorem holds. When...

This paper looks into the history of economic thought to examine the forerunners of the "new monetary economics." This approach emphasizes the role of regulations on private financial intermediation in determining the particular institutional arrangements that contemporary monetary theory treats...

Progress is better for some consumers than for others. The authors analyze the factors governing how much a consumer gains from progress, defined as price declines and the introduction of new and improved products, and they show how these factors vary systematically across consumer groups....

I examine and test hypotheses for the differential performance of men and women in the arts. I consider whether observed outcomes are best accounted for by differing innate and genetic endowments across the sexes, variations in training opportunities, maternal responsibilities, or discrimination...

Online education has flexibility and cost advantages over in-class teaching and these advantages will grow with improvements in information technology. We consider likely market structures given that the quality aspects of online education exhibit endogenous fixed costs. Concentration in the...

The presence of iconic superstars declines in many fields of endeavor, and economics is no exception to those principles. As for political orientation, those raised up to relative prominence today fit the spirit of the times.