Tuesday's Assorted Links
Alan Greenspan, mass unemployment, gambling surge, mangoes, and a Japanese ice cream cartel
Hi y’all! Here are five stories from this week that contained some neat applications of economic principles or are related to teaching:
Alan Greenspan, economist and longtime head of the Federal Reserve, dies at 100 [NBC News]
Anthropic has concepts of a plan for the case where artificial intelligence causes 25% Unemployment [Gizmodo]
The World Cup will likely be the biggest gambling event in history [CNBC]
The economics of mango mania [The Hustle]
Six Japanese companies are suspected of colluding to raise the price of their ice cream as sweltering summer looms [The New York Times]
Cabo Verde has been the darling of the 2026 World Cup, drawing against Spain and Uruguay with a squad where nearly half the players grew up outside the island. Their experience is a great example of labor mobility and allocative efficiency, two of the most important concepts in labor economics. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, it’s worth your time before the knockout rounds begin.
The World Cup's Best Story Is Actually an Economics Lesson
Cabo Verde has emerged as the undeniable darling of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Africa’s third-smallest country has a population of roughly 530,000, which is about the same size as the Lexington, Kentucky metro area. The Blue Sharks have already pulled off
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> Alan Greenspan, economist and longtime head of the Federal Reserve, dies at 100
Adjusted for inflation, he was actually 172
> Anthropic has concepts of a plan for the case where artificial intelligence causes 25% Unemployment
Such a Luddite take. Shouldn't the long term goal of all advanced societies be 100% unemployment?
> Six Japanese companies are suspected of colluding to raise the price of their ice cream as sweltering summer looms
Was anyone forced or coerced to buy their ice cream? No? Then what's the crime? Good for them, I hope they find the profit maximizing price