My new piece on the musical Hamilton

http://www.ecnmy.org/engage/hit-broadway-musical-hamilton-provides-perfect-lesson-economics/

Excerpt:

The brilliant tune ‘My Shot’ also illustrates several economic concepts. First, Hamilton sings about going to King’s College (which is now Columbia University) to gain more skills, as he claims “the problem is I’ve gotta lotta brains but no polish”. In another section of the song we hear from the character Mulligan, who’s an apprentice to a tailor. He echoes Hamilton’s aspirational desires when he sings: “I’m joining the rebellion cause I know it’s my chance to socially advance, instead of sewin’ some pants”.

My thoughts on the musical Hamilton

Recently, I had the privilege of seeing Hamilton.  For those not in-the-know, this is THE ticket to get on Broadway right now.  If you try to find tickets, you can no longer find them for less than $300/ticket.  (We got them when the show was still in previews in August for a cheap price, thankfully.)  Some thoughts:


1. After seeing it - I completely agree with NY Times critic Ben Brandtly, who says "Yes, it really is that good".  I can't recommend this show highly enough.  

2. It has many songs that give great illustrations of economic concepts, including Satisfied, The Room Where it Happens, Cabinet Battle #1, and more.  I currently have one song up on BroadwayEconomics.com, My Shot. 


3. The business of how this show operates fascinates me.  They have increased the ticket prices recently, so there are a few rows for about $100, but most tickets are $180.  But they hold back some tickets that they call premium tickets which cost several hundred dollars a ticket.

All this said, one could still argue their tickets are dramatically under-priced.  Why?  They sell for much more on the secondary market.

Here the show has a tough decision.  The producers want to make money, but they'd also like the opportunity for some people without high incomes to get to see the show.  But if they don't price the tickets high enough, ticket resalers simply buy all the tickets immediately, then mark up the price on the secondary market  


4. The musical used to have an in-person lottery, which they called Ham4Ham, where people could put their name in as an attempt to win a $10 front-row seat.  The lottery was a major PR coup for the show, as often 1,000 people would line up in front of the building each day to try to win a ticket - creating major buzz for the show.  But the lottery was so successful that it presented problems for those who actually wanted to drive on the street (or walk past the theatre) so the show went to an online lottery.  This will lower the odds of winning, as the decreased cost of submitting an entry means more entries will be submitted daily.

5. I agree with those who say Hamilton should not be removed from the $10 bill, including what you can read here and here.

6. On the trip, we also saw "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime".  That was also fantastic - one of the best plays I have ever seen.


Here's a clip of the show performing their opening number at the Grammy Awards

My newest paper at Agbioforum

Fifteen Years of Experimental Auctions of GM Foods: What Have We Learned about Policy, Preferences, and Auction Design?

You can download a PDF here.

Abstract:

It was a coincidence that GM foods became ubiquitous at the same time that researchers started using experimental auctions to study consumer preferences for food products. We explore the history of experimental auctions used to study GM food products and how the insights gained have been useful to policy makers. We also examine how experimental auctions of GM food products helped researchers gain insight both into consumer behavior and into best practices for experimental auctions.

When do sports stars have an income tax rate over 100%?

Here are a couple stories highlighting the tax issues faced by athletes:

1. Paying to play in Memphis

Excerpt:

That’s where Johnson comes in. “In certain instances,” Klempner says, “it can actually cost a player money to play in Memphis. It’s completely disproportionate.” Johnson didn’t quite pay to play in Memphis, but there will be cases like his going forward as the Grizz front office uses 10-day contracts to experiment with potential roster fits.

2. California taxes will eat up all of Cam Newton's Super Bowl earnings 

Remember when Peyton Manning paid New Jersey nearly $47,000 in taxes two years ago on his Super Bowl earnings of $46,000? Manning has nothing on the state taxes facing Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton for Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, Calif.

(Note - I know a business operator who says that NC tax laws mean this isn't quite true - as Newton will get a credit on his NC taxes.  At the very least, however, these articles highlight some strange and sub-optimal tax laws.)

Recent additions to Broadway Economics

Shipyard, from the Last Ship

The Winner Takes it All from Mamma Mia

Thoughts on the economics conference (ASSA) and San Francisco

The ASSA conference in early January is the biggest economics conference each year.  Thousands of economists descended this year to San Francisco for three days of fun and frivolity.  (OK, three days of learning about new models, statistical methods, and results – but that’s the same thing, right?)  I was a discussant for one paper and presented a poster on Broadway Economics.  I also saw several good presentations where I learned some things, worked on projects with my co-authors, and met several interesting people.  It was a fantastic conference.

San Francisco, however?  What a dump.  Coming in on the BART (their train), you see many run-down houses that still cost a fortune, because of the insane property restrictions.  It makes you wonder why anyone would live there.  Of course, it might be because they love being accosted by beggars on their dirty streets.  Between the griminess, the beggars, the high property values, high taxes (even on plastic bags - which costs lives), and the other ways it restricts liberty, San Francisco might be my least favorite US city.  It is even in the running with Mexico City and Naples, Italy as far as places I most want to avoid.   (Although I did like Fisherman’s Wharf ...)

My 2015 in review - publications

I had another productive year with research and writing.  I published four articles for lay audiences and also had four scholarly publications in 2015, with three more scholarly articles that have been accepted but are still forthcoming.  Here are the details:


Here are my published opeds or articles for lay audiences:

“Economic Lessons for Children from The Hunger Games.”  Library of Economics and Liberty. December 6, 2015.  http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2015/Rousuhungergames.html

“Here’s what PA should do about the minimum wage.” The Harrisburg Patriot News.  February 27, 2015.  http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2015/02/heres_what_pa_should_do_about.html 

“Three keys to prosperity.”  The Philadelphia Inquirer.  January 20, 2015.

“Changing These Two Laws Would Appropriately Commemorate MLK Day.” The Federalist. January 19, 2015.  http://thefederalist.com/2015/01/19/changing-these-two-laws-would-appropriately-commemorate-mlk-day/ 

Here are my scholarly publications:

Rousu, M.C., R. O’Connor, M. Travers, J. Pitcavage, J.F. Thrasher.  (2015).  “The impact of free trial acceptance on demand for smokeless tobacco: Evidence from Experimental Auctions. Harm Reduction Journal 12(18), http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/12/1/18

Rousu, M.C., J. Corrigan, D. Harris, J. Hayter-Kerns, S. Houser, B. LaFrancis, O. Onafowora, A. Hoffer, G. Colson.  (2015).  “The impact of monetary incentives on game performance and classroom learning.”  Journal of Economic Education 46(4) 341-349.

Rousu, M.C., J Corrigan, G. Colson, C. Grebitus, M. Loureiro.  (2015).  “On developing guidelines for use of deception in agricultural and applied economics.”  Applied Economics Policy and Perspectives 37 (3) 524-536.

Rousu, M., D. Ramsaran, and D. Furlano.  (2015).  “Guidelines for conducting economic impact studies on fracking.”  International Review in Economic Research, 21 (2): 213-225.

(And these are forthcoming ...)

Colson, G., J. Corrigan, C. Grebitus, M. Loureiro, M. Rousu. (2015). “Which deceptive practices, if any, should be allowed in experimental economics research? Results from surveys of applied experimental economists and students.” Forthcoming at the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 

Ramsaran D. and M. Rousu.  (2015).  “Experiencing the Impact of Marcellus Shale: A Case Study.”  Forthcoming at International Journal of Social Economics.

Rousu, M.  (2015). “Fifteen Years of Experimental Auctions of GM Foods: What have we Learned About Policy, Preferences, and Auction Design?”  Forthcoming at Agbioforum.