Invisible Economics

Episode

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  Why Printer Ink Costs So Much 16.09.2026 13mnt

  A small light on the printer turns orange. The replacement cartridge is a plastic box smaller than a deck of cards. Sitting nearby is an entire printer — motors, rollers, electronics, scanner and wireless radio — priced not nearly as far above it as the two objects would suggest.The next time you buy a cartridge, you'll notice the printer sitting beside it — and you'll know which of the two is really the product.▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│IN THIS EPISODE— Why printer manufacturers can afford to sell the machine so cheaply— How expensive cartridges repay the subsidy hidden in the printer— Why the tiny chip on a cartridge may be more important than the ink inside itTHE NUMBERNearly $10,000 per litre — estimated price of HP 65 tri-colour cartridge ink, TechRadar, 2024SOURCESTechRadar — cartridge price-per-litre comparison, 2024Gabaix & Laibson — “Shrouded Attributes, Consumer Myopia, and Information Suppression in Competitive Markets,” 2006HP Inc. — Annual Report, fiscal 2025▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│Narration in this episode is AI-assisted.Research, writing and editorial judgment are human.Invisible Economics — The Systems Behind Everyday LifeNew episodes regularly.
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  The Most Profitable Question in the Store 14.09.2026 13mnt

  A washing machine has been chosen. The price is agreed. The card is already in hand. Then, just before the transaction ends, the salesperson asks one more question: would you like protection with that?The next time you are offered an extended warranty at the checkout, you'll notice when the question is asked — and understand why that moment is so valuable.▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│IN THIS EPISODE— Why retailers can earn more from selling protection than from selling the product itself— Why warranty providers compete for the retailer rather than the customer— How “reverse competition” can make competition push prices up instead of downTHE NUMBER$561 million — protection plan revenue recognized by Lowe’s, fiscal 2024SOURCESLowe’s Companies, Inc. — Annual Report, 2024UK Office of Fair Trading / Competition Commission — Extended Warranties on Domestic Electrical GoodsNevada Revised Statutes — definition of reverse competition▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│Narration in this episode is AI-assisted.Research, writing and editorial judgment are human.Invisible Economics — The Systems Behind Everyday LifeNew episodes when they're ready.
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  Why Airlines Charge You to Choose Your Seat 13.09.2026 14mnt

  Twenty-four hours before departure, the seat map appears. Same aircraft. Same cabin. Same seats. But pointing at one rectangle can cost another thirty-four dollars.The next time you open an airline seat map, you'll notice that the grey boxes are not just showing availability — they're part of the pricing system.▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│IN THIS EPISODE— Why airlines can charge more without providing a physically better seat— How restricting choice separates passengers by willingness to pay— Why improving the cheapest fare can actually destroy the value of the premium oneTHE NUMBER$12.4 billion — seat-selection fees collected by five U.S. airlines from 2018–2023, U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 2024SOURCESU.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations — Airline Fee Investigation Staff Report, 2024Raymond Deneckere & R. Preston McAfee — “Damaged Goods,” Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 1996U.S. Department of Transportation — Family Seating Dashboard and proposed family-seating rule, 2023–2024▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│Narration in this episode is AI-assisted.Research, writing and editorial judgment are human.Invisible Economics — The Systems Behind Everyday LifeNew episodes when they're ready.
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  Why Airlines Pay You to Miss Your Flight 12.09.2026 15mnt

  A flight is full. The gate agent offers $400 for someone to take a later plane. Nobody moves. Then the offer becomes $500. Then $600. The number stops moving the moment somebody stands up.The next time you hear an airline asking for volunteers at the gate, you'll notice the price moving — and know that you are watching an auction find its seller.▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│IN THIS EPISODE— How airlines used to decide who lost a seat on an overbooked flight— How economist Julian Simon turned that decision into a voluntary market— Why putting a price on bumping passengers may have made overbooking easier to expandTHE NUMBERAbout 291,000 passengers voluntarily gave up their seats on U.S. airlines in 2024 — U.S. Department of Transportation, passengers, 2024SOURCESJulian L. Simon — Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, 1968U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board — oversales and denied boarding rules, 1978U.S. Department of Transportation — Air Travel Consumer Report, 2024▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│Narration in this episode is AI-assisted.Research, writing and editorial judgment are human.Invisible Economics — The Systems Behind Everyday LifeNew episodes when they're ready.
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  Why the Biggest Store Pays the Lowest Rent 11.09.2026 12mnt

  At each end of a shopping mall sits one of its largest stores. They take up more space, sign longer leases, and draw the crowds. They also tend to pay some of the lowest rent per square metre in the building.The next time you walk the corridor between two anchor stores, you'll notice the smaller shops along the way — and realize that the footsteps outside their doors are part of what they're paying for.▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│IN THIS EPISODE— Why shopping centres charge anchor stores less for space— How smaller tenants help pay for the traffic those anchors create— Why co-tenancy clauses can turn one store closure into a problem for an entire mallTHE NUMBERAt least 72% lower rent per square foot for anchor stores versus non-anchor tenants — Pashigian & Gould, Journal of Law and Economics, 1998SOURCESPeter Pashigian & Eric Gould — “Internalizing Externalities: The Pricing of Space in Shopping Malls,” Journal of Law and Economics, 1998▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│Narration in this episode is AI-assisted.Research, writing and editorial judgment are human.Invisible Economics — The Systems Behind Everyday Life
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  Why Some Storefronts Are Worth More Empty 11.09.2026 12mnt

  A storefront sits empty on a busy street. Businesses want the space, the owner has their phone numbers, and the lights stay off anyway. Sometimes accepting less rent can cost more than collecting no rent at all.The next time you pass a storefront that has been dark for months, you'll notice the asking rent may be doing something even when the room isn't.▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│IN THIS EPISODE— How a cheaper lease can pull down the value of more than one storefront— Why headline rents, lender covenants and hidden concessions can make vacancy rational— How an empty shop can function like an option on a more valuable tenant laterTHE NUMBER16 months — average Manhattan storefront vacancy spell, 2015–2019, Moszkowski & StackmanSOURCESOption Value and Storefront Vacancy in New York City — Erica Moszkowski & Daniel Stackman, 2023Bleaker on Broadway: The Contractual Origins of High-Rent Urban Blight — Daniel Stackman & Erica Moszkowski, 2023▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│Narration in this episode is AI-assisted.Research, writing and editorial judgment are human.Invisible Economics — The Systems Behind Everyday Life
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  You Pay for Free Parking Even If You Never Drive 10.09.2026 10mnt

  A supermarket offers free parking. But the asphalt outside still has to be built, insured, lit and maintained. The cost never disappeared. It simply moved inside the store.The next time you park outside a supermarket, you'll notice the empty spaces around the car — and know that they were paid for at the register.▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│IN THIS EPISODE— How minimum parking requirements determine the size of a parking lot before the store is built— Why drivers, pedestrians and bus passengers all pay for supposedly free parking— How surveys of free suburban parking became laws that reproduced the demand they claimed to measureTHE NUMBER330 square feet — approximately 31 square metres of pavement and circulation space per parked car, Donald Shoup, 2005SOURCESDonald Shoup — The High Cost of Free Parking, 2005Michael Manville — Parking Requirements and Housing Development: Regulation and Reform in Los Angeles, 2013Daniel Baldwin Hess and Jeffrey Rehler — Minus Minimums: Development Response to the Removal of Minimum Parking Requirements in Buffalo, 2021▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│Narration in this episode is AI-assisted.Research, writing and editorial judgment are human.Invisible Economics — The Systems Behind Everyday LifeNew episodes every other Tuesday.
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  Why the Cooked Chicken Costs Less Than the Raw One 09.09.2026 10mnt

  A cooked chicken turns slowly under a heat lamp. A few steps away, the same bird sits raw in a refrigerated case — and sometimes costs more. The difference is not a mistake. Someone chose that price.The next time you walk past a rotisserie chicken, you'll notice that the store may be selling more than dinner.▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│IN THIS EPISODE— Why retailers deliberately sell some products at or below cost— How the same cheap chicken can buy a supermarket basket or a warehouse membership— Why one retailer built part of its own poultry supply chain to protect a single memorable priceTHE NUMBER$30–40 million per year in forgone gross margin — Costco CFO Richard Galanti, 2015SOURCESConsumer Reports — supermarket rotisserie chicken reportingU.S. Department of Agriculture — chicken size and retail dataCostco earnings call — 2015▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│Narration in this episode is AI-assisted.Research, writing and editorial judgment are human.Invisible Economics — The Systems Behind Everyday LifeNew episodes regularly.
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  They Paid to Put That Product in Your Hand 08.09.2026 12mnt

  You walk into a supermarket believing the shelves are simply showing you what people buy.They aren't.The most valuable positions in a supermarket — the places your eyes naturally land and your hands naturally reach — can be negotiated, rented and paid for long before a single product is sold.In this episode of **Invisible Economics**, we explore the hidden market behind supermarket shelf space: slotting allowances, pay-to-stay fees, eye-level placement and the quiet negotiations that determine which products become visible and which disappear toward the bottom shelf.But the story goes beyond supermarkets.The same economic logic now governs the digital shelf, where sponsored search results and retail advertising businesses sell the limited number of positions people actually look at before making a decision.Physical shelves may be finite. Digital shelves can be infinite.Human attention is not.And once retailers learn exactly where people tend to look, reach and click, that habit itself becomes something that can be sold.The next time your hand reaches automatically for a product at eye level, ask yourself:**Did you choose the product — or did someone choose the position first?****Invisible Economics** — the hidden systems, incentives and transactions shaping everyday life.#InvisibleEconomics #Economics #Supermarkets #RetailEconomics #ConsumerBehavior #Marketing #RetailMedia #BehavioralEconomics #Business #Advertising #HiddenEconomics #ConsumerPsychology
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  The Airline That Prints Its Own Money 08.09.2026 12mnt

  In June 2020, most of United Airlines' fleet was grounded and the company needed cash. With aircraft and spare parts already pledged, it offered lenders something that could not fly: MileagePlus. The collateral was a frequent-flyer program.The next time you tap a rewards card, you'll notice that part of the purchase is helping finance an airline — even when no ticket is being bought.▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│IN THIS EPISODE— How airlines turn loyalty miles into cash by selling them to banks— Who pays for rewards when card fees are absorbed into everyday prices— Why flying planes is what keeps a private rewards currency worth wantingTHE NUMBER$21.9 billion — United Airlines, estimated MileagePlus valuation, 2020SOURCESUnited Airlines Holdings — Form 8-K, 2020Delta Air Lines — Form 10-K, 2025Federal Reserve Bank of Boston — Who Gains and Who Loses from Credit Card Payments?, 2010▌│▌│ ▌│ ▌▌│ ▌│▌ ▌│ ▌▌│▌ ▌│ ▌│▌│Narration in this episode is AI-assisted.Research, writing and editorial judgment are human.Invisible Economics — The Systems Behind Everyday LifeNew episodes every other Tuesday.