Hiring Advice

 Reposted the tips taken from Managerial Econ blog:

"For interviews, rate each candidate on these categories [using a 1-5 scale]:

Technical skill for the role at hand

Problem-solving (which everyone understands is a polite term for intelligence)

Communications (the candidate’s ability to communicate clearly in spoken and written English)

Teamwork (ability to get work done despite the failings of people above, below, and around them), and

Drive (motivation to do well in this particular job)."

Source: Internet

Kakuro - Mathematical Transliteration of Crossword Puzzle

A friend introduced me to Kakuro. The mathematics behind it is the most interesting aspect. It is a mathematical transliteration of crossword puzzles. A short video below if you want to know more. 

I have tried to come-up with a similar crossword game for Sukuk, called "Sukudomics." A combination of Sukuk (Islamic bond) and economics. That is how I come across Kakuro.

Source - Youtube

Emoji as a Digital Language

Today's content is from Elaine's Blog: econlife. 

According to Unicode (the group that manage emoji population), the most popular emoji in late 2021 is Tears of Joy.

Below is the excerpt:

"It helped the market considerably when two scientists defined the size of a meter during the 1790s by calculating the distance from the North Pole to the Equator and dividing it by 10 million. Once they knew the size of a meter, they said the kilogram was “a cubic decimeter of rainwater at 4 degrees Celsius.” One result was a platinum kilogram cylinder. But the bigger impact was the standardization of a wide array of weights and measures.

Today in the U.S., NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) is the place to go for a measurement standard. Whether you want to know the duration of a second or the length of an inch, NIST has it."

Anyone can send the proposal for emoji to the Consortium. 💪

Image credit: econlife/Unicode

A Gas Tax Holiday

Read Prof Mankiw's take on the proposal of a temporary reduction in gasoline tax here.

According to him, the tax break might not be a good idea because:

1.  An increase in demand will increase inflation.

2. Supply is relatively inelastic. Therefore, producers gain the benefits from the tax cut.

3. The existing gasoline tax is below optimal Pigovian level. If people drive more, negative externalities        (pollution) will exacerbate.

Image credit: Geckoandfly

The Dyson AirBlade

An excerpt from the full article:

"As well as vacuum cleaners, he launched the Dyson Airblade hand drier in 2006, which is now commonplace in public toilets all over the country, and a range of popular hair products. Whatever James applied his innovative mind to, he has crafted market-leading products and invented new designs, to shake up the status quo."

Image credit: EBOSS

Measuring Road Quality

The IMF has introduced a novel approach of measuring road quality in 162 countries. Excerpt:

"High-speed roads that can carry goods to customers in far-off markets raise productivity, reduce poverty and are an important contributor to sustainable and inclusive economic development."

Nowcasting Economics

"Nowcasting in economics is the prediction of the present, the very near future, and the very recent past state of an economic indicator. The term is a contraction of "now" and "forecasting" and originates in meteorology."

You can get the MATLAB code from this article here.

Image credit - Liberty Street Economics

Oceans of Grain

A Book Review in IMF Blog here. The book was published two days before the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It was on the history of wheat grain and how it actually shaped the world. An excerpt from the book below: 

"War and hunger are key themes throughout Scott Reynolds Nelson’s history of how wheat feeds the world. From Nelson’s first research visit to Odesa in 2011, just as bread riots sparked the Arab Spring that toppled governments from Tunisia to Egypt, he pivots back 12,000 years to the genesis of Europe’s breadbasket, in what are now Ukraine and Russia, and the ancient grain trade routes that later fed the continent’s cities and armies."

Best Advertisement Campaign

18 Best Advertisements and the lessons we can learn from them.  

Source: BrandChannel

Nontraditional Reserve Currencies

An interesting recent trend from the IMF blog.

Source: IMF Blog