How to Make the Best Choices

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The authors found that the people who got free funeral insurance, they would spend less money on God. Belinda loves this paper not just because it's clever and interesting, but because it shows how important context is to the way that we make choices. She says if you look at the world through the lens of economics, people will start to look really similar.

A great economics paper does two things. It takes on a big question, and it finds a smart way to answer that question.

But some papers go even further. The very best papers have the power to change lives.That was the case for three economists we spoke to: Nancy Qian, Belinda Archibong, and Kyle Greenberg.

They all stumbled on important economics papers at crucial moments in their careers, and those papers gave them a new way to see the world. On today's show - how economics papers on the Pentecostal church in Ghana, the Vietnam war draft, and the price of butter in Sweden shaped the courses of three lives.

This episode was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Keith Romer. Sierra Juarez checked the facts, and it was mastered by Natasha Branch with help from Gilly Moon. Jess Jiang is our acting executive producer.

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