Category: Tutorial
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The Ultimate Guide to Market Structures: A Deep Dive into Competition, Power, and Strategy
Introduction: Decoding the Competitive Landscape In the world of economics and business, the concept of market structure is fundamental. It is the framework that describes how firms are organized and categorized based on the type of goods they sell and the nature of competition they face.1 Understanding market structure is essential because it profoundly influences…
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Field of Schemes or Engines of Growth? A Definitive Economic Analysis of Professional Sports Stadiums
The Billion-Dollar Question: Are Pro Sports Stadiums a Winning Play for Cities? The modern professional sports stadium is often presented as more than a venue for athletic competition; it is framed as a civic monument, a powerful economic catalyst, and a unifying source of community pride. Across North America, cities are engaged in a perpetual…
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How to Build a Retrieval Augmented Generator (RAG) from Scratch
Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) is a powerful approach in AI that combines the strengths of large language models (LLMs) with external knowledge retrieval. By augmenting LLMs with external databases, documents, or APIs, RAG enables accurate and up-to-date information retrieval, dramatically improving the quality of generated responses. What is Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)? A RAG system…
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AI vs. Software Engineers: A Nuanced Look at the Future of Work
Recently, at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs” fame says “We’ve been telling kids for 15 years to learn to code. Well, AI is coming for the coders. It’s not coming for the welders, the plumbers, the steamfitters, the pipefitters, the HVAC, or the electricians.” While this statement is true…
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Understanding Inflation: How Different Products Affect Our Perception of Price Increases
Understanding Inflation: How Different Products Affect Perception of Price Increases Inflation is the general increase in prices across an economy, resulting in decreased purchasing power of money. Purchasing power refers to the amount of goods or services that one unit of currency can buy. Let’s explore how inflation impacts consumer perceptions differently depending on the…
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How to Build a Simple LLM-Powered App from Scratch
In recent years, Large Language Models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s GPT have transformed how developers create powerful, intelligent applications. If you’ve been wondering how you can build your own app powered by these cutting-edge technologies, this guide will walk you through the essentials, step by step. Step 1: Define Your App Idea Every great app starts…
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The Great Shift: Where Did All the Jobs Go? A 20-Year Look at Industry Disruption
Remember the concept of a “job for life”? For our parents’ and grandparents’ generations, it was a tangible reality. You started at a company, learned the trade, and retired 40 years later with a pension and a gold watch. Today, that idea feels like a relic from a black-and-white movie. Over the last 20 years,…
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Will AI Destroy Jobs or Redefine Them? An Economic Perspective
As artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly integrates into every aspect of modern life, one pressing question emerges: Will AI eliminate jobs or simply redefine them? From an economic viewpoint, the answer may be more nuanced than it initially appears. Understanding the Historical Context Throughout history, new technologies have often sparked fears of widespread unemployment. From the…
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Unlocking the Hidden Value: Understanding Producer and Consumer Surplus
Ever wondered what makes a great deal feel so good? Or how businesses profit while still delivering value to their customers? The answers lie in two fundamental economic concepts: consumer surplus and producer surplus. These ideas help us understand the benefits that both buyers and sellers gain from market transactions, illustrating the efficiency and welfare…
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Navigating Your Wants and Needs: Understanding Utility Maximization and How Prices & Income Shape Your Choices
Ever wonder why you buy what you buy? Or how a sale on your favorite item, or a sudden raise at work, changes your shopping habits? It all boils down to fundamental economic principles: utility maximization and the interplay of income and substitution effects. As consumers, we’re all trying to get the most “bang for…
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Price Elasticity
Price elasticity refers to the measure of how much the quantity demanded or supplied of a good changes in response to a change in its price. The formula for the price elasticity of demand is below. price elasticity quantity of the demanded good price of the demanded good If the quantity demanded changes considerably due to…