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the undercover economistUndercover Economist, TheThe economic mysteries of daily life.32134391undercoverfalsefalsespacernotembeddedthe undercover economistWhy Not Start Your Weekend on Wednesday?Tim HarfordThere's no need to preach the gospel of leisure. Most of us work less than our parents did.noWhy Not Start Your Weekend on Wednesday?Why not start the weekend on Wednesday?noWere an alien to pick up our news channels, it would conclude that human civilization depended on the production and purchase of cheap plastic rubbish. First came the concern that we might talk ourselves into not spending enough, then the fear that the banks wouldn't lend us the money to spend even if we wanted to. In November, our governments borrowed money and gave it to us in the hope that we'd catch on. Are we really so dependent on consumption?truenotochyperlinkno2008122773700AMSaturdayDecDecember712/27/2008 12:37:00 PM6336596022000000002008122773700AMSaturdayDecDecember712/27/2008 12:37:00 PM633659602200000000the undercover economistOn the Dole, but Not DolefulTim HarfordUnemployment benefits do encourage joblessness. But that may not be a bad thing.noOn the Dole, but Not DolefulUnemployment benefits do encourage joblessness. But that may not be a bad thing.noTo most thoughtful people, unemployment benefits embody a painful trade-off. They are the mark of a civilized society, clubbing together to provide assistance to those in need. They are also, regrettably, an incentive to remain unemployed. At their worst, unemployment benefits pay people to watch daytime television. They are particularly pernicious if the skills of the jobless decay and unemployment becomes unemployability. Yet, at their best, they are a life-saver.truenotochyperlinkno2008121263628PMFridayDecDecember1812/12/2008 11:36:28 PM6336470378800000002008121372243AMSaturdayDecDecember712/13/2008 12:22:43 PM633647497630000000the undercover economistHoles in Our SocksTim HarfordWhy it's so hard to predict how bad the recession will be.noHoles in Our SocksWhy it's so hard to predict how bad the recession will be.noRight about now, most businesses are trying to work out how their customers are likely to respond to the recession. Looking back to the last really nasty recession—the early 1980s—isn't much help for low-cost airlines, cell-phone companies, Internet retailers, producers of organic and fair-trade food, and many other businesses barely imagined at the dawn of the Reagan era. The economy has simply changed too much since then for experience to be a reliable guide.truenotochyperlinkno2008112870825AMFridayNovNovember711/28/2008 12:08:25 PM6336345290500000002008112970336AMSaturdayNovNovember711/29/2008 12:03:36 PM633635390160000000the undercover economistOnly the Good Buy YoungTim HarfordWhy 20-year-olds should invest way more in the stock market, and 50-year-olds, way less.noOnly the Good Buy YoungWhy 20-year-olds should invest way more in the stock market, and 50-year-olds, way less.noHere are the chief investment lessons of the financial crisis for today's young people: They should be buying more stocks and running up debts to do so. I'm not saying that the market is undervalued—how would I know? I am merely suggesting a way of reducing risks.truenotochyperlinkno2008111574124AMSaturdayNovNovember711/15/2008 12:41:24 PM6336233168400000002008111574124AMSaturdayNovNovember711/15/2008 12:41:24 PM633623316840000000the undercover economistMoney on the BrainTim HarfordWhat can "neuroeconomics" teach us about how we shop?noMoney on the BrainWhat can "neuroeconomics" teach us about how we think about money?noThis morning, I had a remarkable experience: I strolled into a delicatessen and bought some delicious Stilton. What made the shopping trip unusual was that I was wearing a brain scanner while I did it. My costume consisted of an electroencephalograph cap, which looks like a polka-dot shower cap with wires plugged into it; a pair of wraparound glasses with a tiny video camera attached; a clothes peg on one finger to measure my heart rate; two other finger monitors that function like a lie detector; a thermometer patch on a fourth finger; and a satchel to hold a computer gathering the data.truenotochyperlinkno200811175511AMSaturdayNovNovember711/1/2008 11:55:11 AM633611229110000000200811175511AMSaturdayNovNovember711/1/2008 11:55:11 AM633611229110000000200612183849AMSaturdayJanJanuary81/21/2006 1:38:49 PM63273429529000000020074112511PMSundayAprApril134/1/2007 5:25:11 PM633110307110000000falsetruetruetruetruetruetrue2006117115919AMTuesdayJanJanuary111/17/2006 4:59:19 PM632730959590000000200612183848AMSaturdayJanJanuary81/21/2006 1:38:48 PM632734295280000000