Society

By Rick Bookstaber M&A activity is showing signs of life, activity reaching its highest levels since 2007. What more appropriate symbol of the renewal of the economy, of the emerging spring-time of our business cycle, than the merger…

How do we make moral and ethical decisions? It would be nice if our choices were grounded in nothing but the facts, in the details of the issue at hand. Alas, that’s not the way it works. Jonathan Haidt, a psychologist at the University…

I read a very good piece on the psychology of economic nationalism by SocGen 's Dylan Grice earlier today. Because of some relevant thoughts from a reader regarding austerity, I wanted to pass on my thoughts on what he wrote in the context…

henever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form,…

Here is an earthquake risk map of the U.S. from the Daily Mail.

By Rick Bookstaber In a recent post I laid the blame for the inadequacies of neoclassical economics and behavioral economics on the failure to take into account human context. By context I mean that humans make decisions that are colored…

The WikiLeaks saga looks to be descending into a personality conflict between its leading founders. Take a look at this animated mock-up for what's going on.

By Rick Bookstaber In the Ming Dynasty, (1368 – 1644), China established an examination system as a merit-based approach for appointments to government office. There were three levels to the exams, with the final cut then coming through an…

A corporation is a societal construct codified into legal existence to further the mutual interests of individuals. A corporation is "an artificial being, invisible, intangible, and existing only in contemplation of the law," according to…

Marshall Auerback spoke to BNN's Squeeze Play about the civil unrest in Egypt and what the unrest means for financial markets and the global economy. The most obvious global implications regard the potential for civil unrest elsewhere and…