Mark Blaug used to begin his history of economics course with an old Greek proverb: “the fox knows many little things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing”. He would then say that one could characterise most thinkers in the history of economic thought as either a fox or a hedgehog. As a student, I found that this character-driven view illuminated past economists’ theories in a fresh way and br...

In a recent issue of the European Journal of Public Health Barendregt and Bonneux 1 argue that 'the trouble with health economies', in particular economic evaluations of health care programmes, is that outcomes 'depend to a large extent on arbitrary decisions in study design', while in more theoretical discussions economists would 'display an unseemly rigidness'. Barendregt and Bonneux conclude...

background to estimate the total annual cost due to chronic hepatitis b (chb)-related diseases imposed on each patient and his/her family in iran.   methods economic burden of chb-related diseases (chb, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma) were examined. in this retrospective study, 100 iranian patients were identified to obtain their socioeconomic status, utilization (direct and indirect c...

We present an overview of the use of power calculations in experimental economics as well as other disciplines. We review the methodology proposed by the field of economics as well the pitfalls in failing to incorporate power calculations in lab and field experiments. We write this note to further draw attention to the issue, and to make a case that details of power calculations should be repor...