Chapter 5 Q-7 Nick T

In Naked Economics chapter five the author spoke a lot about information and how useful it is to economists and overall society. The first example he brought up was background information on job candidates for women and black men. The job firm without taking any info will assume a woman wants to have a family therefore leaves or takes off time from work due to maternity leave. This leaves the job firm thinking the woman is not as profitable worker as a man due to them having to leave and possibly leave for good. Next was the discrimination on black men. 28% of black men have been sent to prison while only 4% of white men. Without doing a background check on the black man who is applying for a position, the firm can only suspect him of having a criminal background so they hire the white man. The last point he addresses that opened my mind about info was of insurance companies background checks and health checks on people applying for insurance. When receiving the info the insurance company charge according to the clients health, background, and history of accidents. This opened my mind to how important information really is to our world and to economists. Economists study and analyze information and use it to help shape the economy and  better the world around us.