Econ Readers

   A world-class soccer team's locker room is more likely to interrupt a birthday celebration if you visit early in the calendar year than later. Among the British youth leagues, for example, almost half of the players were born between January and March. The majority of elite players on a similar German team were born between January and March, while only four were born between October and December. It is common for elite athletes to begin playing their sport at a very young age. Youth sports are organized by age, so leagues impose a cutoff date. Like many youth soccer leagues in Europe, the cutoff date for youth soccer leagues is December 31. Imagine you are assessing two players in a league for seven-year-old boys. the first, was born on January 1, the second, was born on December 31. Despite both being seven years old, the first boy is a year older than the second which gives him a considerable advantage at this young age. There is a good chance that the first boy will be ...

  Males have always had an advantage over females throughout history. However, the lives of women have improved dramatically, especially in developed nations in the 21st century. According to the earliest available statistics, 21 per cent of college students in the United States were female in 1872. The percentage has grown to 58 per cent today, and it's on the rise. Despite this, being a woman still comes with a high economic cost. In the United States, a woman who holds a bachelor's degree and works full-time earns about $47,000 a year, on average. In contrast, similar men make more than $66,000, a 40% premium. Prostitution, however, is a labour market women have always dominated.  Prostitutes in the United States were counted in 310 cities in 26 states in the early 1910s by the Department of Justice. According to the DOJ, one out of every 110 women was a prostitute. It is estimated that 85 per cent of prostitutes were in their twenties. One out of every 50 American women in...