Michael Humphries

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Jan 4, 2024, 2:07 PM

Apartheid Israel and other lies

Apartheid Israel has become a rallying cry of the Christian left on college campuses and other forums, as a way demonizing Israel. The underlying claim is the Christian left's passionate concern for how Palestinians are treated by Israel. That...

Mar 26, 2023, 2:42 PM

Israel’s housing market and the law of unintended consequences

The law of unintended consequences is the observation that an action may have results that the actor didn’t intend. The unintended consequences may not have been foreseeable and also may not be immediately observed. The consequences may be neutral,...

Dec 15, 2022, 2:28 PM

Four-Day Work Week

Hot topics of the day about work are working from home and a four day work week. The four day work week is the more interesting of the two. Most people probably assume that the five day work week is...

Jul 24, 2022, 4:25 PM

China overtaking the US economically: What does it mean for Israel?

A question keeping economic pundits busy is whether the Chinese economy will overtake the US economy as the largest in the world. The British Consultancy Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) predicts that China, now the world's second-largest economy,...

Mar 19, 2022, 3:28 PM

Russia invades Ukraine: Economic implications for Israel

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and the West, led by the US, reacted immediately with sanctions against Russia. The US imposed a series of primary sanctions against Russia in general and against specific Russian targets. Probably the most...

Jan 19, 2022, 7:53 PM

Israel’s fruit and vegetable prices: sorting fact from fiction

There has been a hubbub lately about the decision by the Israeli Ministries of Treasury and Agriculture to reduce consumer prices by allowing more foreign imports from cheaper sources which will, in turn, reduce retail prices as well. But is...

Nov 25, 2021, 12:46 AM

Hate Israel’s high cost of living? Don’t blame supermarket chains.

Shoppers at the Rami Levy supermarket in Gush Etzion on August 17, 2012. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Like Hawaii and post-Brexit Britain, Israel is expensive because it's an island economy, located far from its trading partners. That's not going to change any time soon.

Aug 12, 2021, 11:06 AM

In the name of competition

Israel’s Ministries of Finance and Agriculture recently announced reforms in the agriculture markets in an effort to increase competition in the agriculture market. Their goal is to increase competition among farmers by allowing more imports of agricultural goods from...

Jan 7, 2021, 10:07 PM

Anticipating Israel’s post-pandemic period

The Israeli government policy has been to manage affairs "while in motion," an approach that will be less appropriate for the recovery from the pandemic. Israel should already be planning for a post-pandemic period that, hopefully, is not far...

Oct 16, 2020, 4:07 PM

This World Food Day, consider the moshav model to stop hunger

Moshav Shdema, in Israel's coastal plain. (Wikipedia)

To eliminate the cycle of poverty and food insecurity, learn from self-sustaining farm communities that can function as collectives for efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and more

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About Me

Michael Humphries teaches marketing and management at the Jerusalem College of Technology and is deputy chairman of the Business Administration Department at Touro College Israel, where he teaches finance.