Hi y’all! Here are five stories from this week that contained some neat applications of economic principles or are related to teaching:
Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza hasn’t taken a snap in the NFL yet, but the first pick in this year’s draft is offering up financial advice to Gen Z [Bleacher Report]
White House preparing plan for 90-day diesel exports ban [Politico]
The U.S. may have less of an actual shortage of licensed nurses than a shortage of nurses who are willing to work in bedside jobs that have become increasingly demanding [Time]
H&M discovers it’s tough to make money selling used dresses for $5 [Tech Times]
A $5000 bike shows why it’s hard to build in America [Bloomberg | Archive]
When a recruiter’s viral TikTok warned Gen Z job seekers to leave their iced coffee outside the interview room, the internet split into two camps. This week’s article highlights how both sides are describing the same Nobel Prize-winning idea without realizing it. That the same drink can send completely different signals depending on who’s doing the hiring. Check out the full piece to find out what signaling theory says about the debate, and whether that cold brew should make it past the parking lot.
What Your Iced Coffee Is Telling Your Interviewer
The internet is fighting about coffee again. This time, a veteran recruiter posted a TikTok criticizing Gen Z candidates who show up to interviews holding iced coffee. She argued the drink makes the interview look like just another stop on a list of errands.
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Re Diesel Export Ban: This is an excellent example of "hyperbolic discounting" -- a time-inconsistent model in which people steeply undervalue future costs compared to immediate utility. Another example is heroin use -- short term utility overcomes long-term costs.
If something is difficult or expensive to do in the United States, especially if it *used to be done here*, it's almost certainly a result of overregulation or other government meddling.