Can a Cab Driver Haul a Cab on a Rainy Day in New York?

We take a deep dive exploring the 1997 study “LABOR SUPPLY OF NEW YORK CITY CAB DRIVERS: ONE DAY AT A TIME,” by  Colin Camerer, Linda Babcock, George Loewenstein, and Richard Thaler.   This paper shifts through piles of data to look at how NY city cab drivers behaved - and what they found was an economic anomaly - the cab drivers did not behave as classical economists predicted.  The data showed that the drivers worked shorter hours on days when they earned faster (e.g., when it's raining) which goes against what economists would have predicted (i.e., that they maximize those opportunities).    

Kurt and Tim run through how the study came to be, what they measured, and the implications of the paper's findings.  This is a quick and fun dive into one of behavioral science classic studies.  

Find out more about this paper in our blog post