David Kestenbaum

A Surprising Barrier To Clean Water: Human Nature

David Kestenbaum — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:03:00 +0000

In many parts of the developing world, drinking a glass of water can be deadly — especially for young children, who can die of diarrheal diseases contracted from dirty water.

So getting clean water to people in the developing world has been a top priority for aid groups for a long time. But it's been a surprisingly hard problem to solve.

For a while, aid workers largely treated clean water as an engineering problem: If there's no clean water in a village, dig a well.

Who Hides Money Outside The Country?

David Kestenbaum — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:34:00 +0000

Over the past decade, some 39,000 people have come forward voluntarily to tell the IRS about offshore money they haven't been paying taxes on. This group provides a small window into the world of people who are hiding money in offshore havens. (It's a world we've been trying to learn more about, partly by setting up an offshore company in Belize.)

The names of the 39,000 aren't published anywhere, and they're not eager to be interviewed.

Lady Gaga Writing A New Song Is Like A Factory Investing In A New Machine

David Kestenbaum — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:30:00 +0000

I spoke yesterday with Dan Sichel, a Wellesley economist and a Lady Gaga fan. Both of these facts are relevant for this story.

The U.S. government is about to tweak the way it measures the economy, and some of the biggest changes will affect the entertainment industry.

Under the current system, Sichel told me, Lady Gaga's sales of concert tickets, online songs and CDs all count toward gross domestic product. But the value of the time she spends in the studio working on new songs isn't counted.

When A Famous Hospital Didn't Want An Expensive New Drug

David Kestenbaum — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 07:41:00 +0000

Last year, a new drug called Zaltrap was approved as a kind of last-chance therapy for patients with colorectal cancer. Studies suggested Zaltrap worked almost exactly as well as an existing drug called Avastin. In fact, the main difference between the two drugs seemed to be the price.

"I was rather stunned," Dr.

Three Ways To Totally Transform U.S. Immigration Policy

David Kestenbaum — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:05:00 +0000

With immigration policy in the news again, I asked three economists, "Dream big: If you could create any immigration policy for the U.S., what would it be?" Here's what they said.

1. The Best And The Brightest

Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research would give out more visas to highly skilled workers: scientists, engineers, computer programmers and doctors.

In this universe, with fewer low-skill immigrants, low-skilled labor would be more expensive. So, food would cost a bit more. Child care might, too. There could be fewer restaurants.

An International Battle Over One Of The Most Boring Things In Finance

David Kestenbaum — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 11:29:00 +0000

This week saw the end of a years-long, international, multi-billion-dollar battle over one of the most boring things in finance: savings accounts.

At the center of the battle was Iceland, a tiny country where the banks grew into international behemoths during the credit bubble.

The banks got so big partly by convincing foreigners to open up online savings accounts. In particular, lots of people in England and Netherlands opened up "ICESAVE accounts" with a bank called Landsbanki.

A Sequester Is A 'Jelly-Like Mass,' And Other Notes On Fiscal-Cliff Jargon

David Kestenbaum — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 12:48:00 +0000

Here's a quick rundown on three of the most impenetrable terms related to the fiscal cliff. For more, see our post, The Fiscal Cliff In Three And A Half Graphics.

Why Coke Cost A Nickel For 70 Years

David Kestenbaum — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 09:04:00 +0000
Prices change; that's fundamental to how economies work.
And yet: In 1886, a bottle of Coke cost a nickel. It was also a nickel in 1900, 1915 and 1930. In fact, 70 years after the first Coke was sold, you could still buy a bottle for a nickel.
Three wars, the Great Depression, hundreds of competitors — none of it made any difference for the price of Coke. Why not?
In 1899, two lawyers paid a visit to the president of Coca-Cola. At the time, Coke was sold at soda fountains. But the lawyers were interested in this new idea: selling drinks in bottles.

A Hidden Safety Net, Made Visible By The Storm

David Kestenbaum — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 21:16:00 +0000
The Fairway supermarket in Red Hook, Brooklyn is the sort of place New Yorkers, accustomed to cramped spaces, talk about with amazement. It's an actual, full-size supermarket, right at the edge of New York Harbor.
It's a beautiful setting, but one that was diastrous last week, when Sandy came through.
"There were five feet of water throughout the store," Bill Sanford, the president of the company told me. "Everything was submerged."
They had to throw out dumpsters worth of food.

Energy Independence Wouldn't Make Gasoline Any Cheaper

David Kestenbaum — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:34:00 +0000
Just about every president since Richard Nixon has set energy independence as a goal, and both major candidates have brought it up the current campaign.
As it turns out, there is a place, not so far from here, that has achieved energy independence: Canada.
Canada produces far more oil than it consumes. They're not dependent on the Middle East! They've got all the oil they need!
I called Stephen Gordon, a professor of economics at Université Laval in Quebec City, to ask him about what energy independence means for his nation.
"It's not really that big a deal," he told me.
Really?