The creator economy is a $250 billion industry, projected to reach $480 billion by 2027, allowing millions of creators to turn their passion into a profitable career through platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

Europe has always been home to the most notable soccer clubs in the world, but in recent years Major League Soccer (MLS) – the largest American soccer league – has seen stunning growth. Both of these associations take drastically different approaches towards managing their teams and investors.

Let’s break down mosh pits through an economic lens – it’s like a live-action supply and demand machine, only with more sweat, chaos, and crowd-surfing.

Once considered taboo and a last resort, thrifting has exploded in popularity over the past couple of years thanks to Gen-Z.

Imagine a recruiter asking you to determine the value of a certain good. What valuation factor jumps out for you?

At what point does profit maximization become unethical?

The Hermès Birkin bag is the epitome of luxury and exclusivity given the widespread perception that the ability to purchase them requires being amongst the biggest spenders at the Hermès boutique.

The aesthetics of everyday items, from packaging to digital interfaces, play a major role in influencing consumer behavior and even broader market trends.

Leviathan, by Thomas Hobbes, is a monumental piece of work in the fields of political and ethical philosophy through its description of man’s natural state as well as social contract theory.

As you DoorDash your midnight snack, you have the gig economy to thank for the driver behind the wheel.

Gen Z is redefining the world of personal finance with a fresh, tech-driven approach to investing.

In the icy rivers of Alaska, salmon is a vital resource for its fishing-reliant communities, indigenous peoples, and the economy.

The working of the mind has been considered beyond the scope of economic inquiry. Neuroeconomics, attempting to bridge this gap, studies the relationship between economic decisions and observable phenomena in human brains.

Have you ever considered a world where the economy ceases to exist? This seems impossible, but for most of my life it was reality.

Why do you want money? Nowadays, everyone has a distinct answer to this question. Yet, the classical economic model seems to stop before this question, assuming that we make decisions by logically calculating costs to maximize utility: homo-economicus.

Over the years, the Philippines and China's physical proximity to one another has strengthened economic activity and overall relations between the two countries. However, this proximity has recently become a point of contention, particularly due to the South China Sea.

Behavioral economics acknowledges that psychological factors significantly influence decision-making. People are often driven by emotions, cognitive biases, and social pressures, leading them to make choices that deviate from what would be considered "rational" in an economic sense.

Are $200 Sephora purchases rash, or can they be justified? In the world of girl math, cosmetics and other unnecessary purchases are no longer seen as superfluous, instead they are seen as investments whose costs can be rationalized by their number of uses.

Marriage is a fundamental social institution that profoundly influences individual and societal well-being – extensive literature has explored factors influencing marital decisions and outcomes.

Ethiopia has experienced significant economic expansion in recent years with a GDP growth rate of approximately 7.2 percent in the fiscal years 2020 to 2023 – a testament to Ethiopia's emergence as one of the world's fastest growing economies in today's global landscape.

With the rise of online dating platforms, many argue that the “competition” for attention and the need to “impress” potential partners mimics the mechanisms of the labor market. Much like applying for a job, online dating requires crafting profiles that signal unique qualities, akin to the resume-building seen in the labor market to stand out as a specialized worker. Photos, bios, and interests on a dating profile aim to stop individuals from swiping left, just like an impressive education may deter a hiring manager from throwing away a resume. Recent research suggests that this dynamic aligns with the economic theory of the price mechanism, raising the question: how exactly do individuals “price” their value in the marketplace of relationships?

Getting older doesn’t mean spending more. If you play it right, your birthday can be a financial glow-up! Businesses love to shower you with freebies – from meals to beauty products – but why? And how can you make the most of them? Companies aren’t just being generous. Birthday freebies build customer loyalty. A free treat creates warm feelings, making you likely to return and spend more. Businesses also count on you bringing friends, increasing sales. That “free dessert” at a restaurant? It usually comes with a table full of paying customers.

In our ever changing economy, one of the only industries with consistently high demand is the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to Bollywood to music, people have always been excited to listen to their favorite songs or catch the latest rom-com. However, in the era of technology, the way this content is consumed is rapidly changing; society has entered the age of streaming. Instead of buying CDs or visiting movie theaters, we can stream whatever we desire from the comfort of our own homes, impacting the economy in countless ways.

Why are some former colonies, like the United States and Australia, among the world's most prosperous nations, while others struggle with persistent poverty? In their Nobel prize-winning 2001 paper, "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development," economists Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson provided a compelling answer: it all comes down to whether European colonizers could survive long enough to settle.

The US is home to just 4% of the world’s population—yet houses over 20% of its prisoners. With over 1.9 million people behind bars as of 2023, the US leads the world in mass imprisonment and deals with overcrowding of public facilities at high costs. As such, the privatization of prisons has been the “quick-fix” solution for the government. But does outsourcing incarceration truly save taxpayer money, or rather foster a profit-driven system that values revenue over rehabilitation?

"Crazy Rich Asians" isn’t just a fictional rom-com—it’s a real economic spectacle wrapped in designer fabric. It pulls back the velvet curtain on a world where private jets replace Uber, wedding budgets rival national GDPs, and wealth isn’t just about having money, but about having the right kind of money. Behind the glitz and glamour, the film is a sharp commentary on class divides, generational affluence, and the invisible economic barriers that separate the ultra-rich from, well, everyone else.

Thanks to the rise of social media and convenient streaming services, it is undeniable that the influence of celebrities has grown exponentially in recent years. From yummy recipes to effective workouts, more and more people are turning to celebrities for advice on how to live their lives. Recognizing this, many of them have expanded their brands to profit from their extended influence, particularly the beauty industry.

Consumer preference depends on a variety of factors. In recent years, there has been a trend in preferring products that are eco-friendly. Within the last ten years e-cigarettes have risen in popularity significantly. One question that often isn’t considered when deciding between the two, is which one is better for the environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed an incredible shift in people’s day to day lives, most notably impacting work arrangements. From 2019 to 2023, remote work has seen a five-fold increase, with nearly 40% of US employees reporting working remotely at least one day per week. This shift represents a fundamental change in the way work is organized and raises questions regarding productivity, work culture, and future costs.

You know the drill. Sunlight hits just right, your iced coffee is in hand (even in this horrendous cold?, guilty) and suddenly, you’re not just running errands – you’re the lead in a slow-burn indie film. That’s main character energy, and Gen Z is obsessed. But here’s the thing: being the star of your own life? Kinda expensive.

In a 2022 report, the WHO estimates that depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion annually in lost productivity. This speaks volumes on firms’ temporal bandwidth, where many prioritize short-term profits by overworking employees without realizing the long-term cost of burnout. Even through a theoretical perspective, investing in mental health seems to point towards a sustainable labor market.

Stagflation – an economic phenomenon characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of stagnation in economic growth, high unemployment, and high inflation – is a troubling combination that challenges conventional economic theory and policy responses.

Have you ever noticed that women’s razors, deodorants, or even basic clothing items often cost more than their male counterparts, despite being nearly identical? This premium, commonly known as the “Pink Tax,” isn’t an official tax, but rather a classic example of price discrimination. While this seems unfair and furthers inequality, from a microeconomics businesses are completely justified.

In the digital age, consumerism has transformed, driven by the immediacy of technology and a growing preference for more flexible financial products. This is where BPNL (Buy Now, Pay Later) comes in.

College students and coffee: many argue that one cannot exist without the other. In an environment where students face academic, professional, and extracurricular responsibilities, many students rely on coffee to survive, and the sheer number of coffee shops at Boston University is a testament to that. From Starbucks, Pavement, and Saxby’s, students have a plethora of options, with each cafe receiving hundreds of customers each day. In an attempt to capitalize on this demand, coffee shops implement pricing tactics to squeeze every dollar they can out of their caffeine-addicted customers. But how effective are they?

Ozempic, a semaglutide GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) originally developed as an anti-diabetic medication, has become a powerful weight-loss drug that functions by curbing appetites and altering impulse control. However, beyond its health benefits, its widespread use is triggering shifts in multiple industries. Some health economists are calling Ozempic the new economic earthquake that could reshape spending habits and redefine consumer behavior.

“Did I take advantage of the weak yen, or did the weak yen take advantage of me?” This tiktok trend encapsulates the complex dynamics at play in Japan’s current tourism boom. With a record surge of 36.87 million tourists flooding Japan in 2024, the nation has become a hotspot for shoppers eager to maximize the value of their stronger home currencies against the relatively weak yen.