The thought of growing up and being able to do the things we want is always exciting…until it actually happens. This thought ran through my mind as I entered a new chapter of my life: College. Going to college fills you with the excitement of moving into school and making new friends. But it also meant that I had to take more responsibility for my finances, which was not an…

Economic bubbles are a recurrent feature in the history of financial markets. The canonical example, of course, is the tulip mania fiasco of the 17th century in the Netherlands. The price of tulip bulbs was at one point inflated to the level of a small mansion. Since then, economists have carefully documented and modeled the dynamics of bubble formation. The popular view of bubbles is certainly correct in pointing out…

If you’re not a dog person, then you may roll your eyes when the conversation topic with a few friends turns, inevitably, back to the topic of what cute behavior their dog had recently exhibited. People never seem to tire of the topic, like doting parents talking of their children’s achievements (at finger painting). Until recently, I was firmly in this camp. I had no idea why people raved about…