Tuesday's Assorted Links

Charity, alien invasions, US Steel, fast food, and country music

Oliver Anthony currently has multiple songs on iTunes Top 10 list, but Rich Men North of Richmond has gotten him the most attention. Check out today’s links to learn about some of the economics in the song 👇

Hi y’all! Here are five stories from this week that contained some neat applications of economic principles or are related to teaching:

1. A new study indicates that people donate to charity when they’re already feeling happy, which differs from the common theory that people get a happiness boost after donating to charity [Quartz | original study]

2. Paul Krugman discusses why an alien invasion would be inflationary on a podcast [Bloomberg | Odd Lots Podcast]

3. US Steel, a symbol of American industrial might in the early 1900s, is considering selling itself [Forbes]

4. Six reasons fast food is on the rise [The Washington Post]

5. Noah Smith
   analyzes the economics behind the viral song "Rich Men North of Richmond" [Noahpinion]

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Explore the intriguing world of "girl math," a trend blending creative rationalization and finance to make luxury purchases feel reasonable. It’s really just a creative application of behavioral economics.