Is Eating Lunch like Economics?

This article is about a book, “Mindless Eating”, by Brian Wansink. Wansink does various food-related experiments, deducing many different conclusions and uncovering reasons for why mindless eating tends to occur. One experiment was giving moviegoers stale popcorn. The main factor that affected the amount eaten, however, wasn’t the fact that the popcorn was stale, but rather the amount of popcorn that was presented. Those offered much bigger buckets ate as much as 53% more popcorn than those given smaller portions. Rather than focus on how hungry we are, we let factors like how much food is in front of us determine how much we eat.

One way to limit how much we eat is to immediately limit the amount of food that is put in front of us. For example, if one is eating out and ordered a huge meal, immediately getting a take-out box and putting half the portion in will dramatically decrease how much you would eat that night. The article gives a parallel example of Bush’s pension law, giving companies incentive to automatically sign up for 401K plans, meaning that a little of their salary would be set aside for retirement. Those that didn’t opt out ended up saving a lot more. So, whether a decision is dealing with one’s retirement or what they will eat for lunch that day, the presentation of the decision makes a really big difference on what is eventually chosen.
A new field of economics, behavioral economics, explains why people act the way they do, and end up not doing what they really want to. Getting things done is about doing them, not merely thinking about doing them, and if the void between thinking about doing things and actually doing them can be filled, many people would have breakthroughs in decision-making in different areas of their life.
On the flip side, one can use presentation to their benefit. I personally believe that people should look at the true value of something, how it can really be beneficial, instead of only basing their judgements on what they see with their eyes. However, when selling a product, or promoting something, although it won’t completely sell it for someone, what people see makes a big difference in their decision. Good appearance and publicity can reap many economic benefits.

Government Intervention for the Nation and the Individual

This article talks about the annoyances of going to a necessary government office - the DMV. People may think that the government may be unnecessary because the free market renders it so, but most probably because of the inconvenient experiences one has to deal with. The United States is a mixed economy system. Government intervention is included for a reason. The government helps regulate helps the weak that can not produce, and has some other benefits. However, can’t these government interventions be made pleasant for people? Rather than merely doing something that has to be done, workers at a DMV should be more welcoming to people. The government needs to interfere, that is understood. But shouldn’t these interferences be made the most beneficial for people? Government intervention helps the country as a whole, but can help people individually on a daily basis, as well.

Benefits of Living Under a Highway?

Places like New York have the highest living costs. One reason, of course, is scarcity. The demand for living space in this area is so high because of the nice views and other benefits there are. How to increase the amount of living space in the city? This article talks about combining bridges, or highways, and incorporating other aspects to them so that they can be used for more than one thing. This also relates to maximum efficiency in a way, because something is being used to the best of its ability. Why just use a bridge or highway to merely go from one place to another? What if, in New York, more apartments were built underneath bridges? Architects nowadays can design masterful plans to make this idea feasible. Those that lived in them would still get a great view and those types of benefits. Adding these would increase the amount of living space, helping the fact that good places are scarce. It also uses the bridge or highway to its full potential, as a bridge or highway can do more than just get people from place to place. It does not only have to stop at adding apartments, things like shops and restaurants can be added as well. A mere highway could suddenly turn into a large metropolis area and reap other economic benefits as well.

Popularity of the iPhone

Sprint hasn’t been doing so well. However, things are going to change, since Sprint has recently added the iPhone to the list of products they are going to sell. Demand for Sprint products hasn’t been very high, as they constantly report having had losses in profit. There’s a positive and negative to getting the iPhone. The negative is that getting the iPhone has its own costs. Each iPhone will cost roughly $200 more than other smart phones. Profits aren’t really expected to show up until 2014. The positive is that profit is expected. The constant reports of net losses will cease. Sprint will change their demand line by adding a very popular product to sell. By popularity. Adding the iPhone will initially have a decrease in profits, but in the long run, it will greatly benefit the company.

Decrease in BMW demand caused by a head-scarf

Auto writer Merve Sena Kilic from Turkey unknowingly started an uproar in the head-scarf debate in her country. For an episode of a TV show, she was driving a Mini, wearing a cream and brown head-scarf. Later, a picture of her in the car appeared in a magazine, causing a stir. Soon after, a call was received from Mini and BMW, saying that the picture in the head-scarf was causing an image problem for the company. Much public debate ensued.
We can look at the economic impact of BMW through this incident. A sponsorship deal for the driver was said to end four months sooner days after the incident. Also, people got angry and said they would never buy a BMW or sell their Minis.
The popularity of BMW went down, due to this incident. Popularity is a big indicator of demand, and it is interesting to see that popularity could suddenly swing to much lower than it previously was due to one event that isn’t related to the product whatsoever. Sometimes the most unexpected things can hugely affect the demand of a product.

Somalia's lack of government

Somalia is the only country in the world with no government. Only utter chaos exists within the country, as it is divided into a number of separate regions, whose leaders sometimes conflict over territory. Which economic system does Somalia follow? The rare fact that there is no government cancels out a majority of possibilities. Traditional, command, market, and mixed systems all have some form of leadership or government. However, a market system has no government interruption, Somalia is under no leadership, and so a pure market system is followed. A market system can be good because individuals can produce what they want to, however they want to, and for whoever. Disadvantages are that the weak aren’t protected, there aren’t enough public services for retirement, and one doesn’t know whether their product will be popular or not. However, in this situation, disadvantages are a little more extreme, as interests lead to guns and other weaponry. It is not really about producing what one wants and selling it for profit. The leader of each region is looking for power over other regions, and looking for money through stealing, even kidnapping, as piracy is rampant in the country. One can forget about the weak, as a large majority of Somalis are poverty-stricken. A market economy has no government interruption. Somalia’s pure free market system has no government interruption because there is no government in the first place. A market economy that has leadership in place will not end up in anarchy, because although there is no government interruption in the economy, there are still laws that prevent crime. Somalia lacks even this basic necessity, and is literally lawless. Pure market systems do have their pluses and minuses, but the pluses can only come to fruition if there is some kind of order established. Market economy is literally defined to doing whatever you want to, and that can be highly destructive without some kind of superior power in place. Previous Somali leadership was definitely not the best, but was still exponentially better than the current situation. Until Somalia gets some kind of government established, clans will continue fighting each other, kidnappings will continue to occur, and the country will carry on going in the same direction of helplessness that they have been stuck in for the last two decades.

This article talks about the new education developments from Apple; iBooks 2, iBooks Author, and iTunes U. iBooks 2 is the new version of the electronic bookstore, where students can download textbooks. iBooks Author is a Mac program that can be used to create textbooks, and iTunes U can be used by teachers to create curriculums and share material with students.

Apple is transforming the classroom environment; textbooks on iBooks 2 from original publishing partners cost $15 less, cheaper than print books which can cost up to $100. Once the digital textbooks are bought, there is no longer any need for students to lug around heavy backpacks, as all that they need to succeed can all be held within their hands.

For many teenagers, electronics are wants, not needs. One doesn't need an iPad or an iPhone to continue down the path of education and eventually success, a need.

People need an education, it is necessary for advancement in peoples lives. Apple has managed to incorporate the full academic experience, a need, into their electronic devices, wants. Apples' technology helps students absorb and understand knowledge more easily, as all the information needed is in one place, and can be handled very differently electronically than on a physical book. Apple has used their product, a want, as a spark for advancement in education, a need.

On the flip side, Apple has used the need of education to increase the value of the want, their product. Ultimately, they want to sell their products. If the Apple products are the best for one's education, they will be bought, therefore using the need to further the want.