Why are Newcastle United sweets good for you?

As a long-time Newcastle United fan, I’m very pleased to announce that I have finally made the pilgrimage to the St James’ Park stadium, home of the Magpies.

After a tour around the grounds, I headed straight for the store, eager to get some evidence of my trip to Magpie-Mecca. Imagine my horror when I found our prestigious club logo emblazoned on everything from mousemats to sweets (pictured left) to garters.

“They stick the logo on anything and sell it for twice the price,” remarked my Geordie friend as he picked up a packet of Newcastle United Official Wine Gums (TM).

Then I put on my green-tinted glasses and put my economics brain to work. And I realised we shouldn’t be dissing the sweets — we should be thankful instead.

Keeping down the cost of toast

Spotted @ Durham Castle

The secret to happiness

What win I if I gain this thing I seek,

A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy?

Who buys a minute’s mirth to wail a week,

Or sells eternity for a toy?

A friend set me thinking about happiness recently. Why are we less happy than others even when we live in much more fortunate circumstances? And why does happiness seem to be a never-ending pursuit, with no happily-ever-after endings?

I came up with a model (“Economists: we do it with models”) for happiness to answer the two questions above, and which I hope can give further insight on the science of happiness. Interestingly, the model also reveals some surprising tips on how to achieve it.

The case for Santa

 

Ebenezer Scrooge, at the peak of his miserliness, labelled Christmas ‘humbug’. Economists, on the other hand, label it ‘economically inefficient’ – proving that we are not just depressingly dismal creatures, but incoherent ones at that.

Professor Joel Waldfogel of Wharton was the first such Christmas-bashing economist. In his 1993 paper, “The Deadweight Loss of Christmas“,  he argued that Christmas – as well as all other occasions where gifts are given or exchanged – imposed a cost on the economy. Why? Because the recipient usually does not value the gift as much as the giver had paid for it. That’s why you see so many new expensive-looking ties being auctioned off on eBay at $0.01 on Boxing day.

Waldfogel estimated that the total cost of Christmas to the American economy in 1992 alone was between $4 billion to $13 billion – roughly equal to the loss imposed by taxes. 

Is Santa really as bad as the IRS?

How do you stop Ashley Cole from losing ball control?

Chelsea footballer Ashley Cole has been slapped with a six-month ban – not on the pitch, but on the bed – by his wife Cheryl for his infidelity, involving lots of booze and a hairdresser.

Unfortunately for Mrs Cole, game theory predicts that her strategy won’t work. Why not, and what should she do?