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Walter Oi was one of the many great economists that made a lasting impression on me as an undergraduate student at Rochester.
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1/N https://twitter.com/_gabrielunger/status/1278769575253901314
It is hard to forget Walter’s economic theory about why apple pies declined in popularity as soon as smaller pie sizes started to become available in supermarkets.
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His explanation, in the words of @StevenLandsburg:
“When you’re buying a 12 inch pie, the whole family has to agree on a flavor, and apple wins because it’s everyone’s second choice. With 7 inch pies, family members each get their pick, and almost nobody chooses apple."
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“When you’re buying a 12 inch pie, the whole family has to agree on a flavor, and apple wins because it’s everyone’s second choice. With 7 inch pies, family members each get their pick, and almost nobody chooses apple."
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What I didn’t learn until much later is how influential his research on the draft was, and how he helped end it. As David Henderson’s tribute to Walter put it: “If you are an American male younger than 66, you should take a moment and give thanks to economist Walter Oi.”
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Imagine going to a conference and presenting a paper about the economic costs of the draft, with dozens of Congresspeople in attendance, including Ted Kennedy, who was pro-draft at the time. Now imagine a majority switching to anti-draft by the end of the conference.
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Hard to believe economists can actually have such dramatic policy impacts - especially in this day and age - but this actually happened, and Walter was the key figure at this conference.
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As Milton Friedman put it: “I have attended many conferences. I have never attended any other that had so dramatic effect on the participants. A straw poll taken at the outset of the conference recorded two-thirds of the participants in favor of the draft..
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... a similar poll at the end, two-thirds opposed. I believe that this conference was the key event that started the ball rolling decisively toward ending the draft.”
https://www.hoover.org/research/legacy-walter-oi-1929-2013
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https://www.hoover.org/research/legacy-walter-oi-1929-2013
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