Piracy is a dangerous game to play. The vessels used are often small, rickety affairs and there is increasing hostility from would-be captives. But, employment opportunities in Somalia are scarce in the war ravaged country and many people feel they have little choice than to risk their lives by ransoming the lives of those they [...]

Just wanted to share an interesting comment I saw on Greg Mankiw’s blog today which is attributed to United States Congressman Barney Frank. “Not for the first time, as an elected official, I envy economists. Economists have available to them, in an analytical approach, the counterfactual. Economists can explain that a given decision was the [...]