Joel Lee - Economics Students Society of Australia

Joel Lee

The Market for Beauty

The Market for Beauty

We all want things to be beautiful. On an individual level, this might mean applying make-up or buying nice clothes. Mother Nature herself seems to have a favourite golden ratio to make the natural world aesthetically pleasing. And for an employer, this might mean hiring as many beautiful people as

Happynomics

The Science of Public Happiness “The science of public happiness was how Keynes saw his work as an economist.” Richard Davenport-Hines In his book, Universal Man: The Seven Lives of John Maynard Keynes, British historian and biographer Richard Davenport-Hines described the legendary economist’s outlook as such. And yet, throughout

Cultural Chickens and Economic Eggs

Behavioral economics

Cultural Chickens and Economic Eggs

A father, a mother, and their children – this arrangement constitutes a “nuclear family”. Perhaps a misnomer today, the term was first used in 1924 to describe what many think of as a stable, traditional household[1]. In many ways, the perceived stability of a nuclear family comes from how neatly

Why Measuring Poverty Isn’t That Simple

developing world

Why Measuring Poverty Isn’t That Simple

Although it seems intuitive, defining the concept of poverty has posed economists difficulty. With a great deal of research in past decades, the measurement of poverty has evolved greatly over time. Although many methods of the past are still in use today, new techniques have been developed to provide insights

The Rebound Effect: Shocking (In)Efficiency

The Rebound Effect: Shocking (In)Efficiency

In 1776, engineer James Watt introduced a new type of steam engine so much more efficient in its coal usage that it immediately rendered its predecessor obsolete. Goods and services which used a steam engine could approximately double their output for the same amount of fuel. One would have expected