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Food Trend Adoption (Network Thresholds)

https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/foods/importance-understanding-difference-between-food-trend-or-fad This article covers the topic of product trends within the food market. It considers adoption and persistence of food trends. The author observes that not all trends persist (calling it these temporary trends “fads”). Citing a workshop they attended, the author tells of the prediction models made for the adoption of several types of […]

Group Size and Information Cascade

https://www.livewiremarkets.com/wires/if-you-can-t-feed-a-team-with-two-pizzas-it-s-too-large “If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, it’s too large,” by Nicholas Gregan This article starts off with the fact that boutique (smaller) banks and investment companies have outperformed their larger competitors. Gregan cites one of the reasons as the smaller team sizes at these smaller firms. He argues that there is […]

Mob Mentality and Black Friday

Mob Mentality and Black Friday This article details a few examples of mob mentality, which is essentially similar to an information cascade. The example given in the article is certainly extreme, but it is interesting to see how it compares to the model for information cascades from class. In the example of stampeding over the […]

The Importance of Network Effects in the Tech Industry

https://www.forbes.com/sites/startupnationcentral/2018/03/18/why-a-network-effect-is-the-only-way-your-startup-can-win/#1899331c7527 The technology industry is dominated by network effects. Some examples are obvious like social media platforms, but there are many companies whose entire business models are tied to network effects. Consider Uber for instance – as their driver-base grows, it creates better value for a prospective user; as their user-base grows, it creates better […]

Are Google, Twitter and Facebook doing enough to protect the 2020 election?

https://abcnews.go.com/US/google-twitter-facebook-protect-2020-election-age-information/story?id=66527631 It is widely known that the 2016 United States Presidential Election was the victim of major interference from foreign governments, especially the Russian government. This interference was primarily in the form of influencing the voters through strategic targeted advertising and the propagation of fake news on social media. Consequently, the major players in the […]

Market of Lemons in Healthcare

When Healthcare is a “Lemon”: Asymmetric Information and Market Failure The market of lemons is a concept proposed by George Akerlof, who explores the scope of economic trade beyond perfect competition. Based on the existence of asymmetric information, the market of lemons won Akerlof a Nobel Prize. In the particular example of lemons, there are […]

Prisoners’ Dilemma and Recovering Addicts

Addiction and alcoholism are very complex diseases and recovery from such is one of the greatest challenges faced by individuals. Unlike other diseases, substance abuse cannot just be “cured.” After several years of being clean, many people relapse into their old habits and alcohol/drug dependence. We often hear about people “in recovery” but never people […]

Information Cascades in Housing Markets

An information cascade occurs when people continue to make the same decision in sequential fashion, starting from an initial decision that’s usually binary (Accept/Reject). People’s decisions and behavior are informed by the visible actions of the people who have acted before them. This can be applied to the fall of the US housing market in […]

Health Insurance Premiums Increased More Than Wages This Year

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/26/health-insurance-premiums-increased-more-than-wages-this-year.html   Since 2009, the average price of a healthcare plan has increased by 54% with the average family now paying over $20,000 per year. Everyone knows that healthcare costs are increasing at a dramatic rate, but what is not commonly known is the rate. Inflation in America is 2%, average wages have increased 3.4%, […]

Education and the Rich-Get-Richer Effect

https://www.besteducationdegrees.com/the-rich-get-richer/ http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/content/the-real-reason-rich-kids-do-better-in-school/education   “Rich get richer” is a saying that often comes up when discussing power laws; it is also a saying that has been commonly said throughout the society of various countries. This phenomenon of the”rich getting richer” is often considered to be a cyclic cycle, because it can be traced back to the […]

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