Author: kmenke

Hand sanitizer dispenser Feature / Health Care

Hospital Hand-Washing: The Limits of Electronic Monitoring

The anti-infection procedure rises for a time, when workers are watched, and then falls off

Illustration of a man skiing Research Brief / Compensation

Corporate Bosses, Given Fewer Stock Options, Turn Risk-Averse

Research might give pause to corporate boards changing compensation models

Illustration of workers pedaling to power a computer Research Brief / Sustainability

Green Initiatives — By Themselves — Won’t Boost Productivity

Environmentally conscious companies that also instill teamwork and quality enjoy higher output

Woman with a laptop and smartphone Research Brief / Retirement Planning

Thinking Small Could Deliver Bigger Retirement Success for Gig Workers

Daily, weekly and monthly contribution schemes gauge behavior

Street signs Research Brief / Interest Rates

Are Interest Rates Really So Low?

Adjusting for inflation — and, crucially, for taxes — shows bond investors fare better than they might think

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

Illustration of a house, cap, rings, car keys, baby crib Feature / Nudges

Behavioral Nudges Timed to Certain Days are Effective Motivator

Dates of milestones — major and minor — can spur us to action

A woman having coffee in front of a laptop Research Brief / E-commerce

Online Coupons Work in the Moment but Don’t Seem to Alter the Seller-Shopper Relationship

Studying 1 million Alibaba users, Hengchen Dai mostly confirms the transactional nature of internet retailing

Illustration of a capital city Research Brief / Government

How the Seemingly Rapid Advance of Democracy Goes Astray

Using voting records from a unique transition in the 19th-century Caribbean, Christian Dippel examines the embrace of self-interest by new legislators

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

Ebola tent Research Brief / Health Care

When Ebola Strikes, Where Should Help Go?

Improving epidemic forecasting helps response teams target aid more effectively

A castle with a moat Research Brief / Investing

The Moat That Keeps Complex Asset Strategies Profitable

Andrea Eisfeldt finds that hedge funds with infrastructure to execute sophisticated arbitrage crowd out less-expert investors

Illustrations of a timeline Feature / Time

An Aerial, as Opposed to Ground-Level, View of Time

A novel framework proposes to reduce angst over schedules and lives

Monochrome photo of FDR Research Brief / Economics

Keynes vs. FDR: Lessons from the Great Recession

Sebastian Edwards finds Keynes’ public take-down of Roosevelt’s gold policies still relevant today

Monochrome photo of Wall Street Research Brief / Investing

To Wall Street, There’s No Crisis Like a Banking Crisis

Tyler Muir finds that neither war nor deep recession darkens investor sentiment like sudden turmoil in the financial system

Illustration of a map Research Brief / Cultural History

How Local Governance Came to England’s Economy

Nico Voigtländer found that to combat arbitrary taxes and corruption, merchants persuaded the king to cede control