Does Occupational Licensing Improve Quality?

This article says, "No" (NBER. 2020). But, licensing does increase price.

Incentives for Public School Teachers in the D.C.

"screening mitigated both the adverse selection and the moral hazard problems and not by small amounts" (https://managerialecon.blogspot.com/2013/10/michelle-rhees-tenure-as-washington-dcs.html).

Some of the comments fear that cheating by teachers may account for some of the increase in measured performance.

Can the Fed write better?

Which statement is written better?

"This action supports the Committee’s view that sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near the Committee’s symmetric 2 percent objective are the most likely outcomes, but uncertainties about this outlook remain,”

or

“The Committee weighed arguments for and against cutting interest rates, considering the state of the economy, labor markets and inflation. The majority found the arguments favoring a 25-basis-point cut today more persuasive. But the Committee sees no case for further rate cuts unless the economy weakens or inflation starts to fall. Absent either such change, we expect to hold interest rates steady in the near future. The future is always uncertain, however, so we stand ready to reconsider this decision should circumstances warrant.” 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fed-should-speak-english-for-a-change-11578355141?mod=opinion_lead_pos10

Mattel Commits the Fixed-Cost Fallacy

Mattel increased price for products produced at a plant when transferring one product at the plant increased the average fixed cost for the products that remained (WSJ, Jan. 2020).

Is AI better than Professional Judgment?

Google AI appears to beat MDs when reading mammograms (WSJ, Jan. 2020).

Raise price on a good when it stops being a complement

The WSJ (Dec. 2019) discusses the increase in concert tickets. "As piracy decimated recorded music sales starting in the early 2000s, artists began to rely on touring, ever more so in the past decade."

Using AI to Screen Job Applications

The WSJ (Dec. 2019) describes how employers are using AI to screen applicants and offers advice. Some money quotes follow.

• "Spice up your résumé with specific on-the-job results, use meaningful job titles and tailor your choice of words to match companies’ requirements.
• "Rock Brouwer has hired many candidates ZipRecruiter has brought to his attention. 'When I get one of those, it just makes my day,' says Mr. Brouwer
• "About 60% of employers admit such tools cause them to miss some qualified candidates,
• "Most vendors refuse to tell employers how their algorithms work. And most employers lack deep, accurate performance data.
  The systems risk magnifying managers’ prejudices if those biases are reflected in the makeup of the employer’s current workforce
  ... High performers may share traits that have nothing to do with job performance, skewing outcomes." 
• "Even if employers and vendors aren’t trying to reject female or minority applicants, they still risk doing so if they train algorithms on data gleaned from a current workforce that lacks diversity."