{"id":141,"date":"2025-06-16T14:12:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T18:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/?p=141"},"modified":"2025-06-16T14:12:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T18:12:42","slug":"eclipsed-expectations-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/06\/16\/eclipsed-expectations-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/","title":{"rendered":"Eclipsed Expectations \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Although advanced labor skills, capital goods, and technological innovations anchor our economy and living standards, we should remember that nature can be a critical economic actor. We usually think about nature&#8217;s economic power from destructive natural disasters such as tornados, floods, droughts, earthquakes, and hurricanes. Less noticed are benign natural events that enhance economic well-being. The late journalist and Russian historian Raymond K. Massie attributed the relative peace and prosperity <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thriftbooks.com\/w\/nicholas-and-alexandra_robert-k-massie\/258878\/item\/55706426\/?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=shopping_everything_else_customer_acquisition&amp;utm_adgroup=&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=593719077582&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwnK60BhA9EiwAmpHZwzBKHgF7X_90uHYLeGuobt4FvNOX_FjXT_JyibdwoaW8JjPFUvHiehoC4uIQAvD_BwE#idiq=55706426&amp;edition=58242709%20p.218\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">of Imperial Russia\u00a0<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> from 1906-1911 in part to &#8220;warm summers, mild winters and steady rains&#8221; that led to &#8220;plentiful food and government surpluses.&#8221;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">More recently, portions of Indiana experienced a once-in-a-lifetime natural event: a total solar eclipse on the afternoon of Monday, April 8. At a very local level, many businesses and local governments reallocated resources because of the eclipse. Although not official, faculty and students at Ball State canceled classes to see the eclipse. Bohanon made a conscious decision in 2023 to skip an annual conference in Las Vegas scheduled for the date. After all, Muncie&#8217;s next total solar eclipse will be <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bsu.edu\/web\/planetarium\/2024-solar-eclipse\/solar-eclipse-timeline#:~:text=June%203%2C%202505%3A%20Muncie's%20next,in%20over%20a%20thousand%20years.\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">September 14, 2099<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, and Bohanon will be 144 years old and possibly not in good enough shape to truly enjoy it.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Because people worldwide were planning for the event, tourism officials fully promoted the celestial show and expected an influx of &#8220;eclipse&#8221; tourists. Tourism officials, local governments, and the media told local people &#8220;to treat the eclipse like a snowstorm&#8221; and stock up on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestatehousefile.com\/features\/dark-side-of-the-moon-eclipse-left-franklins-small-businesses-disappointed\/article_2153f518-fb78-11ee-b48e-d3d1d942a3eb.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2ueh6EZGGwW2ZfI6cThVpNGGEcSiEt5dLOL2uGNjPq4EnZhPJ07lAwOjM_aem_ASnwCoxkBxr-UCSXUMUQ-F8Uqr1JA1m0uR6MlLYJWdIhmQeHwHATnRZNcTlGA1YGADhmhwfDHdbdP16mbV0UHAA-\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">gasoline and essentials<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> since they expected affected Indiana localities to be inundated by visitors. Tourist-related businesses added to their stocks, some taking out additional bank loans to finance new inventories.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Unfortunately, the crowds didn&#8217;t show up, and the locals followed their officials&#8217; instructions to stay home. The late Yogi Berra&#8217;s seemingly oxymoronic quip, &#8220;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/quoteinvestigator.com\/2014\/08\/29\/too-crowded\/#google_vignette\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Nobody goes there anymore. It&#8217;s too crowded\u201d<\/span><\/a> <span data-contrast=\"none\">rang strangely accurate. A coffee shop got stuck with 75 gallons of milk. Another proprietor noted he \u201c<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">gave up almost 10 food-truck events this weekend\u2014for what?\u201d Giving up 10 food-truck events is a graphic example of the economic notion of opportunity costs! <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Indiana University put on a world-class show with entertainers and academics at <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">its football stadium. The financial records indicate that it cost IU $1.6 million but yielded under $300,000 in revenue. Four thousand attended, for a per capita deficit of over $300 per attendee. However, the show demonstrated IU\u2019s academic prowess and was memorable for the attendees. But let\u2019s do better in 2099!<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although advanced labor skills, capital goods, and technological innovations anchor our economy and living standards, we should remember that nature can be a critical economic actor. We usually think about nature&#8217;s economic power from destructive natural disasters such as tornados, floods, droughts, earthquakes, and hurricanes. Less noticed are benign natural events that enhance economic well-being. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[462],"tags":[1264,1369,1367,1371,1365,11,354,1366,1364,1370,906,600,1362,1363,1368],"class_list":["post-141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-microeconomics","tag-ball-state","tag-business-losses","tag-crowd-forecasting","tag-economic-behavior","tag-economic-planning","tag-indiana","tag-indiana-university","tag-local-economy","tag-natural-events","tag-natural-phenomena","tag-opportunity-cost","tag-public-spending","tag-solar-eclipse","tag-tourism","tag-unexpected-outcomes"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Eclipsed Expectations \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/people.bsu.edu\/econbriefs\/2025\/06\/16\/eclipsed-expectations-by-dr-cecil-bohanon-and-dr-john-horowitz\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eclipsed Expectations \u2013 by Dr. Cecil Bohanon and Dr. John Horowitz - Econ Briefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Although advanced labor skills, capital goods, and technological innovations anchor our economy and living standards, we should remember that nature can be a critical economic actor. 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