Coles shoppers are paying a hefty premium on some groceries when they shop online and use the supermarket’s supposedly free “click and collect” service or home delivery. Fairfax Media compared in-store and online prices on 10 popular brand label items at Coles and found eight of them were 10 per cent more expensive for online […]
Shopping online is cheaper right? Think again. Big data has helped challenge that conventional wisdom. Alberto Cavallo, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has undertaken a huge, international comparison of the “online and offline” prices charged by big retailers.
You find lower prices online than at bricks-and-mortar stores, right? Wrong. Alberto Cavallo of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology displayed resourcefulness and ingenuity by producing a wide-scale international comparison of online and offline prices.
Chicago Tribune – “Shopping online may not save you anything” Read More »
Public debt in a court of (dumb) law The parallels between Greece and Puerto Rico, which we have noted before, continue to evolve, but now a political dimension has been added to the economic one. The economic problem has to do with the combination of a public debt overhang and a shrinking population and economy.
Financial Times – “Free Lunch: Straggling towards restructuring” Read More »
The government is rebuilding its discredited statistics institute GOVERNMENT bean-counters do not, in most countries, have a reputation for derring-do. But in Argentina some have proved to be martyrs and heroes.
The Economist – “An Augean stable” Read More »
-Microdata allow users to analyze policy impact -Trustworthy, informative, and accessible data fundamental to good policy decisions -Legal frameworks necessary to balance confidentiality and access to microdata
IMF News – “‘Microdata’ Give Boost to Economic Decisionmakers” Read More »
Economists, policymakers, and business leaders need better data on which to base their forecasts. Fortunately, new sources of information about the economy have recently emerged: the vast collections of private data collected by search engines and other Internet companies.
Project Syndicate – “Economic Forecasts in the Age of Big Data – Project Syndicate” Read More »
Company scans Internet data to produce real-time indicators The Federal Reserve updates its economic forecasts every quarter. Many economists update their estimates monthly. Some forecasters run their models daily to incorporate new information.
The Wall Street Journal – “Economic Forecasting Is Getting More Up-to-the Minute” Read More »
Argentina’s macro-economic policy has been accused of being incoherent, inconsistent, and out of control. Analysts blame ‘populist handouts’ for President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s popularity. Yet that cannot explain approval ratings around 50 per cent after nearly 8 years in power.
Financial Times – “The logic behind Argentina’s heterodoxy” Read More »