Area: Economics
Gender Gaps in School Performance
Socioeconomic factors magnify the boy-girl divide and can explain cross-race differences
Women Are Likelier to Drop Out after Early Political Loss
But the “persistence gap” in seeking elective office narrows with experience
How People Gather Information — or Don’t — to Make Decisions
Personal beliefs, especially among the less educated, often outweigh actual data
Businesses Vastly Overestimate the Likelihood of Being Audited
Should tax-collecting agencies keep audit activity secret to discourage cheating?
Modern Monetary Theory: Fiasco in Latin America, Option in U.S.?
The populist model, embraced by some on the American left, resembles policy that helped torpedo some smaller economies
Narrowing a Theory on Why Judges Get Tough before Elections
They do, but only when facing a competitive election contest
Pay Transparency: Will It Help or Hurt Workers?
Many assume salary transparency will benefit employees, but research suggests downsides, too
Municipal Pension Crisis Made Worse by Democrats in Close Elections
Sixty years of data suggest retirement obligations rise after Democrats scrape into office
An Early Episode of How Corporate Profits Shaped Labor Markets
Caribbean plantation owners, faced with slavery’s end, enacted legal barriers to employment elsewhere
Parents Who Favor Boys Raise Girls Who Score Lower in Math
A clue that parents prefer a son: They have more kids when their firstborn is a girl
Do Private Prisons Lead to Higher Incarceration Rates?
Researchers take on the difficult job of isolating for-profit prisons from a host of other factors
When Manufacturers Commence Exporting, They Become More Efficient
Looking at costs, in a sample of 5,000 plants in Chile, remarkable productivity gains occur
Culture Affects How People Save Money
Immigrants show saving tendencies that carry through several generations
Do People Donate Money to Signal Their Intelligence?
Research suggests such a connection when donations are publicized
Shaming of Tax Delinquents Works
34,334 letters were sent to test how sensitive those owing back taxes are to neighbors’ knowledge of the debts
Setting the Tax Rate on Legal Marijuana: Consumption, State Revenue and the Black Market
Taxes not high enough? An examination of Washington’s experience even suggests state ownership of pot stores might boost the public coffers