Category: Economic Commentary

Every September, a spike in window based activity coincides with the migration of finches. Our clients report average viewing sessions of 94 minutes, up from 61 minutes in the summer.

This has consequences for productivity. We estimate that cats in our sample forgo 3.4 hours of other nap activity per day during migration. At the standard shadow price of $2.10 per nap hour, that is a cost of $7.14 per cat per day.

The benefits, however, are hard to measure. The finches do not pay. But there is no price on the feeling of a chirp through glass, and we say this as people who put a price on everything.

Between 2019 and 2025, the informal market in household socks grew by an estimated 340 percent. No official statistic tracks it, so we commissioned our own: a survey of 52 cats, 49 of whom admitted to having a sock hidden somewhere.

The average hoard held 6.3 socks with a total street value of $11.80. Wool socks traded at a premium. Ankle socks were treated as a commodity with little differentiation.

The market remains unregulated. We do not recommend that any client declare sock income, as the Revenue Service has not asked. We do recommend a modest reserve in case it begins to.