Area: Economics

Man in shadow pulling a line of grocery carts Research Brief / Minimum Wage

‘Fight for 15’ Debate: What Happens after a Big Boost in Minimum Wage?

Modest loss of jobs followed 1966 law, but millions won substantial raises

Illustration of buildings Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

$54,000 a Year: It Feels Like More If Your Neighbors Make Less

Ricardo Perez-Truglia’s research uses relocation choices of medical residents to study feelings about relative income

Various fast food restaurant signs along a road Research Brief / Minimum Wage

A $15 Minimum Wage May Have (Partially) Arrived, But Who Pays?

Study of L.A.-area restaurants gauges effect on owners, customers, landlords

Sepia photo of four farmers Research Brief / Gender Gap

A History of Plough-Based Farming Leads to Fewer Girls

Modern-day gender ratios are linked to countries’ agricultural roots

Book cover of American Default Book Review / Economics

A Shocking Tale of Sovereign Default and Private Contracts Nullified

Sebastian Edwards brings to life a widely forgotten chapter of U.S. history starring FDR, his no-name economist and the demise of the gold standard

Man carrying a ball, playing indigenous sports Research Brief / Cultural History

A Stabler Climate Means Stronger Traditions

The link between environmental stability and cultural change explains why cultures evolve

People standing in line with face masks Research Brief / Politics

A Tool for Uncovering Voter Suppression

Smartphone data reveals that wait times at the polls are much longer for black people

Khasi Women holding vegetables and smiling Research Brief / Gender

Age-Old Cultural Norms Dictate Gender Roles Even Today

Looking beyond traditional explanations

Coworkers at a bar talking Research Brief / Gender Gap

All Along the Pipeline, Men Promote Men

At one bank, the cumulative effect of male bonding accounts for 39% of the gender pay gap

A man with a headlamp and safety helmet on Research Brief / Wealth Inequality

Americans Want to Help Poor People, but Only the Hard-Working Poor

Biases around race, nation-of-origin and disability are small compared to the preference for helping the diligent

Illustration of Caribbean Research Brief / Labor

An Early Episode of How Corporate Profits Shaped Labor Markets

Caribbean plantation owners, faced with slavery’s end, enacted legal barriers to employment elsewhere

A lone red char in empty office. Research Brief / Investing

As Concentrated Shareholder Ownership Rises, Wages and Employment Suffer

Where big investors gather, corporate wealth is reallocated away from workers

Illustration of a man looking at a carrot while a magnet opens his head Research Brief / Nudges

Behavioral Economics: Are Nudges Cost-Effective?

A team of experts makes the financial case that governments should spend more on nudging

Illustration of a guillotine Research Brief / Cultural History

Beyond Angry Mobs: Intellectuals in the French Revolution

History’s Encyclopédie subscribers are matched to grievances against the monarchy

Inverted image of a calculator Research Brief / Taxes

Boo! Does Merely Mentioning an Audit Increase Taxpayer Compliance?

Research undermines the notion that companies coldly calculate tax avoidance

Monochrome photo of soldiers marching Research Brief / Cultural History

Bowling for Fascism: Exploring the Dark Side of Social Capital

In pre-World War II Germany, sports clubs became a vehicle to spread Nazism