Category: 3-EconSometimeCommentary

Why do you have to pay $4 to get $40 cash at a bar? And who does it go to? Zachary Crockett checks his balance.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Bernardo Batiz-Lazo, professor in the Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University.
  • Patricia Tuz, president of New York ATM.
  • Jon Weilbaker, general manager of New York ATM.
  • Sasha Weilbaker, freelance writer and daughter of Patricia and Jon.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "The Number of ATMs Has Declined as People Rely Less on Cash," by Jim Carlton (The Wall Street Journal, 2023).
  • "Survey: ATM Fees Hit Record High While Overdraft and NSF Fees Fell Sharply," by Karen Bennett and Matthew Goldberg (Bankrate, 2023).
  • "More Americans Are Joining the ‘Cashless’ Economy," by Michelle Faverio (Pew Research Center, 2022).
  • "Thieves Target ATMs Flush With Cash During Covid-19," by Scott Calvert (The Wall Street Journal, 2021),
  • "Locational Study of ATMs in the US by Ownership," by Lian An, Christopher Baynard, Chriadip Chatterjee, and Chun-Ping A Loh (2018).
  • "A Brief History of the ATM," by Bernardo Bátiz-Lazo (The Atlantic, 2015).

 

• EXTRA:
  • "Why Are We Still Using Cash?" Freakonomics Radio (2016).

Keith King was upset when his marriage ended. His wife had cheated, and his family broke apart. And that's when he learned about a very old type of lawsuit, called a heart balm tort. A lawsuit that would let him sue the man his now ex-wife had gotten involved with during their marriage.

On this episode, where heart balm torts came from, what relationships looked like back then, and why these lawsuits still exist today (in some states, anyway.) And also, what happened when Keith King used a heart balm tort to try to deal with the most significant economic entanglement of his life: his marriage.

This episode was hosted by Erika Beras and Sarah Gonzalez. It was produced by Emma Peaslee and edited by Molly Messick. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Gilly Moon. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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There are tons of markets that don't exist because people just don't want to allow a market – for whatever reason, people feel icky about putting a price on something. For example: Surrogacy is a legal industry in parts of the United States, but not in much of the rest of the world. Assisted end-of-life is a legal medical transaction in some states, but is illegal in others.

When we have those knee-jerk reactions and our gut repels us from considering something apparently icky, economics asks us to look a little more closely.

Today on the show, we have three recommendations of things that may feel kinda wrong but economics suggests may actually be the better way. First: Could the matching process of organ donation be more efficient if people could buy and sell organs? Then: Should women seek revenge more often in the workplace? And finally, what if insider trading is actually useful?

This episode was hosted by Mary Childs and Greg Rosalsky. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Jess Jiang. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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Mikayla Novak interviews author Seth Kaplan on his latest book, Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time. In this book, he addresses the decline in American neighborhoods characterized by rising crime, school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation, and despair. Kaplan applies his insights to the American context, emphasizing the importance of relationships and social dynamics in building healthy societies. He advocates for neighborhood-based solutions, highlighting the role of 'community quarterbacks' or social entrepreneurs in organizing local improvements. In this conversation, Kaplan also touches on the impacts of migration, the importance of practical approaches, the characteristics of robust neighborhoods, and emphasizes the need for more intentional community-building efforts to improve societal health and individual well-being.

Seth D. Kaplan is a leading expert on fragile states. He is a Professorial Lecturer in the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Senior Adviser for the Institute for Integrated Transitions, and consultant to multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, and OECD as well as developing country governments and NGOs. Kaplan is a former visiting fellow with the Mercatus Center’s Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange.

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CC Music: Twisterium

Why is it separate from medical insurance? And is it really insurance at all? Zachary Crockett goes in for a cleaning.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Brad Bolman, postdoctoral member of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study.
  • Pamela Maragliano-Muniz, prosthodontist and chief editor for Dental Economics.
  • Wendell Potter, president of the Center for Health and Democracy; former executive at Cigna.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "Dental Medical Loss Ratios: Understanding the Landscape in Massachusetts and Beyond," by Shaza Stevenson, Megan D’Alessandro, Sandra Wilkniss, and Nicole Evans (National Academy for State Health Policy Blog, 2023).
  • "Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2021," by Katherine Keisler-Starkey and Lisa N. Bunch (U.S. Census Bureau Reports, 2022).
  • "Medicare and Dental Coverage: A Closer Look," by Meredith Freed, Nancy Ochieng, Nolan Sroczynski, Anthony Damico, and Krutika Amin (KFF, 2021).
  • "Dentists’ Group Fights Plan to Cover Dental Benefits Under Medicare," by Julie Bykowicz (The Wall Street Journal, 2021).
  • "Antisocial Dentistry," by Brad Bolman (Hypocrite Reader, 2021).

 

• EXTRAS:
  • "'Insurance Is Sexy.' Discuss," by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
  • "Does Health Insurance Make You Healthier?" by Freakonomics, M.D. (2022).

It's Groundhog Day, and the eyes of the nation have turned to a small town in western Pennsylvania. And, just like last year, all anyone can talk about is Punxsutawney Phil! It is impossible to find a news story that is not about one furry prognosticator.

Well, almost impossible...

Once again, our Planet Money hosts find themselves trapped in the endless Groundhog Day news cycle, and their only way out is to discover an economics story from Groundhog Day itself interesting enough to appease the capricious Groundhog Gods!

So rise and shine campers (and don't forget your booties) as hosts Kenny Malone and Amanda Aronczyk scour the news of February 2nds past, to try to find the perfect story.

This episode was hosted by Kenny Malone and Amanda Aronczyk. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Keith Romer, and engineered by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez. It was fact-checked by James Sneed. Our executive producer is Alex Goldmark.

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Note: This episode originally ran in 2015.

German families in the 60s loved tasty, cheap American-raised chicken that was suddenly coming in after the war. And Americans were loving fun, cheap Volkswagen Beetles. This arrangement was too good to last.

Today on the show, how a trade dispute over frozen chicken parts changed the American auto industry as we know it.

This episode was reported by Robert Smith and Sonari Glinton. It was produced by Frances Harlow.

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Our friends at NPR's news quiz Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! recently had a very Planet Money guest on their show: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. They asked her about smoking pot, her extremely high scores in Candy Crush, and when to expect the Harriet Tubman $20 bill.

Today, we're sharing an excerpt of that episode with you, along with some exclusive questions just for Planet Money listeners.

You can listen to the full show and subscribe to Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! wherever you find your podcasts.

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Those low-priced staples on grocery-store shelves — where do they come from? Zachary Crockett finds out at a national convention for private-label manufacturers.

 

• SOURCES:
  • Kusum Ailawadi, professor of marketing at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
  • Eric Beringause, C.E.O. of Winland Foods.
  • Ryan Boyle, vice president of sales at Kitchen Innovations.
  • Samantha Burd, co-owner of Lady Burd Cosmetics.
  • Dean Erstad, senior vice president of sales at Seneca.
  • Harry Overly, president and C.E.O. of Flagstone Foods.

 

• RESOURCES:
  • "The Backlash to Price Hikes Is Building," by Julia Waldow (Modern Retail, 2024).
  • "For U.S. Consumers, It’s a Matter of ‘And’ — Not ‘Or,'" by Kari Alldredge and Warren Teichner (McKinsey & Company, 2023).
  • "Those Doritos Too Expensive? More Stores Offer Their Own Alternatives," by Julie Creswell (The New York Times, 2023).
  • "Why Private Label Brands Are Having Their Moment," by Errol Schweizer (Forbes, 2022).
  • "The Hidden Makers of Costco’s Kirkland Signature and Trader Joe’s O’s," by Nathaniel Meyersohn (CNN Business, 2022).
  • "Pursuing the Value-Conscious Consumer: Store Brands versus National Brand Promotions," by Kusum Ailawadi, Scott A. Neslin, and Karen Gedenk (Journal of Marketing, 2001).
  • "The Effect of Generic Products on Consumer Perceptions and Brand Choice," by John J. Wheatley (NA - Advances in Consumer Research, 1981).

 

• EXTRAS:
  • "Should America Be Run by … Trader Joe’s?" by Freakonomics Radio (2018).
  • "How to Save $1 Billion Without Even Trying," by Freakonomics Radio (2014).

At around 1 a.m. on the morning of November 15, 1994, Captain Prentice "Skip" Strong III woke to a distress call. Skip was the new captain of an oil tanker called the Cherry Valley. He and his crew had been making their way up the coast of Florida that evening when a tropical storm had descended. It had been a rough night of 15 foot waves and 50 mile per hour winds.

The distress call was coming from a tugboat whose engines were failing in the storm. Now adrift, the tugboat was on a dangerous collision course with the shore. The only ship close enough to mount a rescue was the Cherry Valley.

Skip faced a difficult decision. A fully loaded, 688-foot oil tanker is hardly anyone's first choice of a rescue vessel. It is as maneuverable as a school bus on ice. And the Cherry Valley was carrying ten million gallons of heavy fuel oil. A rescue attempt would put them in dangerously shallow water. One wrong move, and they would have an ecological disaster on the order of the Exxon Valdez.

What happened next that night would be dissected and debated for years to come. The actions of Skip and his crew would lead to a surprising discovery, a record-setting lawsuit, and one of the strangest legal battles in maritime history. At the center of it all, an impossible question: How do you put a price tag on doing the right thing?

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