David Kestenbaum

Lady Gaga Writing A New Song Is Like A Factory Investing In A New Machine

David Kestenbaum — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:30:00 +0000

I spoke yesterday with Dan Sichel, a Wellesley economist and a Lady Gaga fan. Both of these facts are relevant for this story.

The U.S. government is about to tweak the way it measures the economy, and some of the biggest changes will affect the entertainment industry.

Under the current system, Sichel told me, Lady Gaga's sales of concert tickets, online songs and CDs all count toward gross domestic product. But the value of the time she spends in the studio working on new songs isn't counted.

When A Famous Hospital Didn't Want An Expensive New Drug

David Kestenbaum — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 07:41:00 +0000

Last year, a new drug called Zaltrap was approved as a kind of last-chance therapy for patients with colorectal cancer. Studies suggested Zaltrap worked almost exactly as well as an existing drug called Avastin. In fact, the main difference between the two drugs seemed to be the price.

"I was rather stunned," Dr.

Three Ways To Totally Transform U.S. Immigration Policy

David Kestenbaum — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:05:00 +0000

With immigration policy in the news again, I asked three economists, "Dream big: If you could create any immigration policy for the U.S., what would it be?" Here's what they said.

1. The Best And The Brightest

Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research would give out more visas to highly skilled workers: scientists, engineers, computer programmers and doctors.

In this universe, with fewer low-skill immigrants, low-skilled labor would be more expensive. So, food would cost a bit more. Child care might, too. There could be fewer restaurants.

'Give Me The Money Or I'll Shoot The Trees'

David Kestenbaum — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 08:34:00 +0000

Ecuador's Yasuni National Park is one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. But there's a complication: The park sits on top of the equivalent of millions of barrels of oil.

This creates a dilemma.

Ecuador prides itself on being pro-environment. Its constitution gives nature special rights.

An International Battle Over One Of The Most Boring Things In Finance

David Kestenbaum — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 11:29:00 +0000

This week saw the end of a years-long, international, multi-billion-dollar battle over one of the most boring things in finance: savings accounts.

At the center of the battle was Iceland, a tiny country where the banks grew into international behemoths during the credit bubble.

The banks got so big partly by convincing foreigners to open up online savings accounts. In particular, lots of people in England and Netherlands opened up "ICESAVE accounts" with a bank called Landsbanki.