Columns

New York Times
From June 1, 2000 to June 27, 2007 I wrote a monthly Economic Scene column for the New York Times.

An iPod Has Global Value. Ask the (Many) Countries That Make It, June 28, 2007
Who makes the Apple iPod? Hint: It is not Apple. [ Norwegian translation of this page provided by Globe Views]
Copyrights That No One Knows About Don't Help Anyone, May 31, 2007
On the "orphan works" problem.
Sometimes the Stock Does Better Than the Investor That Buys the Stock, May 5, 2007
Dollar-weighted returns tell a different story than buy-and-hold returns.
Why that Hoodie Your Son Wears Isn't Trademarked, April 5, 2007
How the fashion industry survives without intellectual property protection.
The Future of Leisure That Never Arrived, March 8, 2007
How has the amount of leisure time changed in the last 100 years?
Kaizen, That Continuous Improvement Strategy, Finds Its Ideal Environment, February 8, 2007
Continuous improvement is easier on the web than in the physical world.
Why Crazy Eddie Wouldn't Be Undersold, and Other Economic Mysteries, January 11, 2007
Are low-price guarantees pro-competitive or anti-competitive?
Recalculating the Costs of Global Climate Change, December 14, 2006
How should we trade off the welfare of future and present generations?
Beyond Insurance: Weighing the Benefits of Driving vs. the Total Costs of Driving, November 16, 2006
The expected cost of another car on the road is surprisingly high.
Why Old Media and Tom Cruise Should Worry About Cheaper Technology, October 19, 2006
The economic theory of rent, developed in the early 1800s, explains some of the economics of "new media".
Many Theories on Income Inequality, but One Answer Lies in Just a Few Places, September 21, 2006
Much of the geographic increase in income inequality in the late nineties is due to just a handful of counties. [graphic]
The Rapidly Changing Signs at the Gas Station Show Markets at Work, August 24, 2006
The recent gyrations in oil prices offer a textbook illustration of how financial markets and commodity markets interact.
The Global Interest Rate Dance, With Bernanke Leading, July 27, 2006
The most exciting global spectator sport now is watching Ben S. Bernanke: Will he raise interest rates in August or not?
Looking for the Incentives That Will Prompt Americans to Save More, June 29, 2006
Offering to match contributions to an IRA shows promise.
Advertising Commodities Can Be Tricky, but It Does Pay Off , June 1, 2006
Dancing raisins sell, but it's hard to keep the growers in line.
Red States, Blue States: New Labels for Long-Running Differences, May 4, 2006
Geographic differences in political attitudes are nothing new.
Beauty and the Fattened Wallet, April 6, 2006
Beautiful people are paid more, but why?
The Difference Between Men and Women, Revisited: It's About Competition, March 9, 2006
Men and women differ in attitudes about competition and compensation.
A Plug for the Unplugged $100 Laptop Computer for Developing Nations, February 9, 2006
Cellphones or laptops for developing countries? Maybe both.
American Companies Show an Edge in Putting Information to Work, January 11, 2006
Why has productivity growth been higher in the US than the UK?
What Can We Learn From How a Manager Invests His Own Money?, December 15, 2005
Do insider sales indicate bad prospects or prudent investment behavior?
An Opportunity to Consider if Homeowners Get Too Many Breaks, November 17, 2005
Should mortgage interest be tax deductible?
Is Affordable Housing Becoming an Oxymoron?, October 21, 2005
What is the cause of high home prices and what can be done about it?
Tenure, Turnover and the Quality of Teaching, September 22, 2005
Teacher quality depends critically on teacher turnover, but it is not clear why.
Technology Levels the Business Playing Field, August 25, 2005
Information technology allows start-ups access to global labor markets.
Reading Between the Lines of Used Book Sales, July 28, 2005
How much do used book sales cannibalize new book sales?
Online Dating? Thin and Rich Works Here, To, June 30, 2005
What are people looking for and do they find it?
Putting a White House Annual Report to a Test, June 2, 2005
Does the Economic Report of the President accurately reflect the consensus views of the profession.
What Should a Reconfigured Tax System Look Like?, May 5, 2005
How should the tax system be reformed? [Figure showing marginal tax rates]
File-Sharing Is the Latest Battleground in the Clash of Technology and Copyright, April 6, 2005
Piano rolls, VCRs and file sharing have been at issue.
Five Years After Nasdaq Hit Its Peak, Some Lessons Learned, March 10, 2005
Financial economists are trying to find out how stock prices were pushed to such irrational and unsustainable levels during the dot-com bubble. [Graphic: Peaks and Valleys]
Two Issues Face Social Security, and Applying One Answer to Both Is Risky, February 9, 2005
Balancing the Social Security budget and introducing private accounts are two distinct issues.
The Dynamics of Pricing Tickets for Broadway Shows, January 13, 2005
Like airlines, Broadway shows use a variety of methods to price discriminate.
Burden Growing on Pension Group, December 16, 2004
Easing the burden on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation will do the same for taxpayers.
Competition and Incentives May Help Control Health Care Costs, November 17, 2004
But to reap the benefits of competition, consumers have to have more choices.
Patent Protection Gone Awry, October 21, 2004
Changes in the patent system have contributed to a deterioration in patent quality.
Good Stock Advice or Online Noise?, September 23, 2004
Do online stock message boards contain any useful information?
Donations Can Buy You Profits, August 25, 2004
Little wonder that companies pour huge sums into presidential campaigns. The payoffs can be far greater.
Analyzing the Marriage Gap, July 29, 2004
According to recent research a married male identical twin makes more money than his single brother.
Parsing California Gas Prices, July 1, 2004
Small fluctuations in supply or demand can mean large price swings in California's gas market.
Exchange Rates the Economy, June 3, 2004
Exchange rates have a lot to do with the health of the world economy.
How Much Does Information Technology Matter?, May 6, 2004
Does information technology confer a competitive advantage?
Options Accounting Rules Are Changing, April 8, 2004
Stock options are still a gamble, but the size of the pot may soon be clearer.

What Goes Abroad Usually Comes Back, With Benefits, March 11, 2004
Trade is a two way street.
Information Technology May Have Cured Low Service-Sector Productivity, February 11, 2004
IT's big productivity impact seems to have been on services.
Why is that Dollar in Your Pocket Worth Anything?, January 15, 2004
The Iraqi dinar provides a lesson in monetary theory.
The True Costs of S.U.V.s, December 12, 2003
The laudable private incentive to choose a safe vehicle may, perversely, reduce overall safety.
Which Party in the White House Means Good Times for Investors?, November 20, 2003
Does the stock market do better when a Republican is president or when a Democrat is president? [chart]
The Mixed Bag of Productivity, October 23, 2003
Productivity, trade and jobs.
Lessons from California's Budget, September 25, 2003
California's budget mess is widely misunderstood.
The Hunk Differential, Aug 28, 2003
Being beautiful pays off, even in occupations where you wouldn't expect it to.
A Good Idea with Bad Press, July 31, 2003
The Pentagon's proposal for a market in terrorism indicators was a good idea that had bad PR.
When Emotions Guide Investors , July 3, 2003
Is the current tech stock recovery a rational reaction to oversold sector, or is it the start of another bubble?
Dealing With Deflation, June 5, 2003
Just as a rosy complexion can be a sign of health or of a fever, deflation can be a sign of economic strength or weakness.
A Market Approach to Politics, May 7, 2003
How markets can help aggregate beliefs?
Novel Ideas for a Risky World, April 10, 2003
Some risks are more manageable than others. Can we design markets to change that?
Why New Savings Plans Won't Work, March 13, 2003
Default choices in saving plans may be too powerful.
Deficits and Political Pain, Feb 13, 2003
The deficit is bad and getting worse.
Bush's Plan to Eliminate Taxes on Stock Dividends, Jan 16, 2003
There's a lot to be said for eliminating the double taxation of dividends, but it should be done at the right time in the right way.
Online Sales Offer Fresh Look at Economy, Dec 19, 2002
Online shopping was supposed to revolutionize the way we buy. That hasn't happened quite yet, but economic research on online commerce is booming.
The Fed Trounces the Private Sector in Crystal-Ball Gazing, Nov 22, 2002
Whom should we believe: Fed forecasts or the private sector?
Lessons in Experiments Gone Wrong, Oct 24, 2002
The 2002 Nobel in Economic Science.
Employment and Prosperity Affect Body Inflation, Sept 26, 2002
Close to half the American population is estimated to be overweight, a condition that has serious economic consequences because of its impact on labor supply and health care.
When Economics Shifts From Science to Engineering, August 29, 2002
Economists are increasingly being called on to give advice a variety of market and market-like mechanisms.
Tales of Manipulation and Design, August 1, 2002
Auctions are a great way to sell, but they are subject to manipulation.
New Chips Can Keep a Tight Rein on Consumers, July 4, 2002
As chips get cheaper, products get smarter. Sometimes they can get too smart for their own good.
Productivity and Profitability Make Odd Couple in Odd Recession, June 6, 2002
Is the recent increase in productivity good news for business? Not necessarily. The relationship between productivity and profitability is looser than one might think.
Knowing About Diluted Earnings Is a Powerful Tool, May 9 2002
Should options be expensed or not? Here's a suggestion.
What, Exactly, Was on John Nash's Beautiful Mind?, April 11, 2002
So what did John Nash actually do?
Enron Is Worst-Case Example of Need for Clearer Accounting Rules, March 14, 2002
The "genius of capitalism" depends critically on having clear rules and transparent reporting for accounting.
Investor Behavior Plays Role in Debate Over Wider Choice in 401(ks)s, February 14, 2002
Behaviorial economists present evidence that more choice isn't necessarily better, a finding relevant to the debate over 401(k) plans.
A New Economy With No New Economics, January 17, 2002
Coase's 1937 paper on "The Nature of the Firm" doesn't necessarily imply that firms will get smaller when communication costs go down, contrary to some claims.
For Too Many, Social Security Is Main Retirement Plan, December 20,2001
Even relatively wealthy Americans save too little for retirement.
A Bangladesh Bank Relies on Peer Pressure for Collateral, November 22, 2001
How the Grameen Bank overcomes asymmetric information problems that perpetuate local monopolies.
The Case for Catastrophe Bonds, October 25, 2001
Catastrophe bonds, a form of reinsurance, are based on a 50-year old idea by a Nobel laureate economic theorist.
Some Views on How to Steer the Economy Towards Recovery, October 13, 2001
Temporary tax rebates for consumers and firms will induce them to spend quickly.
Videoconferencing May Get Much-Needed Critical Mass, October 4, 2001
Will videoconferencing ever take off?
Slowdown in IT Equipment Sales Fuels Push Into Services Business, September 10, 2001
Forget about personalization, portals and push. Today's mantra in information technology is "services."
Good Monitors Make for Better Contracts, August 23, 2001.
Most computers have monitors, but some computers are monitors.
Sorting Out Bundling and Antitrust Law, July 26, 2001
Selling bundles of products to increase profits.
G.E. and Honeywell Ran Afoul of 19th-Century Thinking, June 28, 2001
How the economics of complements influenced EU thinking on the G.E.-Honeywell merger.
Market Risks Could Hurt the Social Security Safety Net, May 31, 2001
Privatizing social security caries significant risks, since the recent performance of the stock market cannot be counted on.
The Power of Luck Is Important in Tax Policy, May 3, 2001
How much income is due to ability, and how much to luck? The answer is important for the shape of the "optimal income tax".
Special Rate Schedules May Solve Energy Woes, April 5, 2001
An "increasing block rate" can help moderate demand for electricity.
Forget Net Taxes. Forget Sales Taxes Altogether, March 8, 2001
Rather than extend sales tax to the Internet, think about dropping it altogether and find better ways to tax consumption.
Comparing Nasdaq and Tulips Unfair to Flowers, February 8, 2001
Was the Nasdaq bubble yet another example of tuplimania? No, but not for the reason you think. [Chart.]
California Must Control Demand for Power, January 11, 2001
The reason for the California electricity crisis can be summed up in four words: demand grew, supply didn't.
Exposing the Fraying Edges in the Fabric of the Economy, December 18, 2000
Part of the 2001 Economic Outlook section.
Technology Rise and Fall Is as American as the Model T, December 14, 2000
Technology booms and busts have been with us for centuries.
Online Users as Laboratory Rats, November 16, 2000
Unravelling the mystery of "late bidders" on eBay and Amazon.
Tax Cuts May Be Fashionable, but Now's a Good Time to Raise Gas Taxes, October 19, 2000
United States policy on gasoline taxation could be much improved.
Examining Differences in Drug Prices, September 21, 2000
The economics of differential drug pricing.
Online Commerce Creates Strange Competition, August 24, 2000
The Internet may raise or lower prices, depending on the nature of competition.
Internet Changes the Economics of Information Industries, July 27, 2000.
Economics of Napster.
Mixing Economics and Political Science at Universities, June 29, 2000
Economic approaches to forecasting election results.
Managing Online Security Risks, June 1, 2000.
Role of liability in risk management for computer security.
The Industry Standard

Cool Media, November 13, 2000.
A new generation is turning the tables on television.
Paying Complements, May 22, 2000.
The proposed Microsoft breakup puts the economics of competition to the test.
Priceline's Magic Show, April 17, 2000
The name-your-price retailer has an old trick up its sleeve.
Field of Dreams, March 17, 2000.
What if you build broadband and no one comes?
The Law of Recombinant Growth, February 28, 2000.
Like Eli Whitney, Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers, today's inventors have learned that the sum is greater than its parts.
Drop the Sales Tax, January 21, 2000.
Stop worrying about online sales tax collection. Tax income or consumption instead.

Articles by Hal R. Varian

These are articles by and about me, op-ed pieces, interviews, etc. that are written for the general reader. More technical work can be found in the research papers section.

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Articles by Hal R. Varian

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