Topic: Economics

Laptop computer with Transparent Pricing presentation Research Brief / Strategy

Should a Company Reveal Its Cost Structure to Customers?

In certain competitive situations, cost transparency can provide an edge

Stock market ticker displays Feature / Stock Returns

New Appreciation for a Classic Stock Market Gauge

The relationship between short- and longer-term moving averages has strong predictive power for share price returns

Female driver looking back to the rear of her car Research Brief / Gender

Economics of Women-Driver Ride Hailing

Other safety measures are easier to implement, but research suggests how female driver pool could be increased

Bar and line chart Research Brief / Corporate Finance

What Drives LBO Fever? More Than Just Cheap Loans

Private equity investors weigh the total cost of capital — not just debt, but equity as well — when pursuing buyouts

FDA building Feature / Health Care

A Tool to Make FDA Drug Approval Practices Transparent

Researchers aim to help the agency, drug companies and patients better understand the complex authorization process

Monochrome photo of people standing in line for bread Research Brief / Banking

What Makes a True Financial Crisis?

Data back to 1870 show similarities in the worst banking system shocks — focusing on loose lending before a meltdown

Illustration of a consumer shopping for a car Research Brief / Consumer Behavior

Consumers Habitually Seek the Middle Ground

Unpublished research shows avoiding the extremes is a common approach marketers need to address

People in line to buy tickets at a booth Feature / Pricing

Fairness in the Allocation of Scarce Goods and Services

As alternative pricing schemes proliferate, researchers examine beliefs about their fairness

Illustration of two men juggling cash Feature / Mergers and Acquisitions

Some Corporate Mergers Hold Down Future Wages

Fewer employers = less competition for workers = smaller paychecks

Smokey factories in China Research Brief / Sustainability

94% of China’s Pollution Inspections Find No Violation

Researchers offer a model for more effectively targeting wrongdoers

Person using a computer to check their 401K Research Brief / Retirement Planning

Maximizing Retirement Savings: More Nudging Required

Tweaking 401(k) website design and language can significantly boost worker contributions, yet HR doesn’t always see these opportunities

Illustration of a man pushing a shopping cart Research Brief / Corporate Investment

How to Spur Capital Spending: Plan for Failure

Companies might invest more in new ventures if they could see in advance how to redeploy the assets if things don’t pan out

Aerial shot of a city Research Brief / Education

How Universities Can Behave Like Entrepreneurial Organizations

Tradition bound, colleges face pressures to be nimbler, more opportunistic

Person in an ICU Research Brief / Health Care

Research: Patients Spent 15 Hours Longer than Necessary in the ICU

Delaying transfers to other inpatient hospital rooms limits availability of costly beds

Loaded cargo ship docked Forecast / International Trade

Some Unfortunate Truths about Trade

The troublesome relationship between tariffs, trade deficits and the tenuous economic recovery

Person looking at billboard ads on a wall Research Brief / Branding

Luxury Goods: The Perils and Profits in Lower-Priced Markets

A study uses game theory to suggest when designer companies should license their names for down-market goods