Topic: Economics

Black and white image of train tracks Research Brief / Banking

How Banking’s Bifurcated Deposit Approach Is Altering Lending — and Risk

Offering higher deposit rates lessens emphasis on loans of fixed rate and longer maturity

Hospital building Research Brief / Mergers and Acquisitions

How Antitrust Thinking on Hospital Mergers Has Been Forced to Evolve

Matt Schmitt’s research shows hospital prices rise after acquisitions, even where local competition is unchanged

Illustration of a woman with reflection of line chart going up Research Brief / Investing

How an Excess of Stock Analyst Optimism Lands on Companies Least Deserving of It

Results of financially weak firms are difficult to forecast; in uncertainty, Wall Street’s views are overly generous

A collage of faces in white frames on a light green background Research Brief / Investing

How a Stock Analyst’s Face Affects Their Earning Estimates

Trustworthy and dominant-seeming men: access to corporate management. Dominant-seeming women: not so much.

Shopping cart with digital display. Research Brief / Sales

How Loyalty Programs Might Become More Profitable

Target customers with easy access to a competitor?

Silhouette of biker near a power plant with smoke stack Research Brief / Sustainability

Household Energy Conservation: Appeal to Cost Savings or Environmental and Health Impacts?

Money-saving messages lose impact over time, while worry about dangerous pollution helps consumers show discipline

Two people sit opposite of each other while working on their laptops Research Brief / Investing

Heading for a Divorce? Might Want to Go Easy on Stock Picking

Active traders lose their edge as a marital breakup approaches

Four children are sitting around a shoe box filled with dirt and worms engaging in a science project Research Brief / Education

Head Start, the Public Preschool Program, More Than Pays for Itself

Large study sees increases in education, declines in public assistance

One green apple among a crowd of oranges. Research Brief / Competition

Has the Term ‘Competitive Advantage’ Outlived Its Usefulness?

Popular in business schools and executive suites, it’s no longer a meaningful way to compare companies

People waiting for job interview Research Brief / Hiring/Firing

Google Says to Hire the Best, but Suppose You Can’t?

Top companies hog the best talent, adding to their competitive advantage

A nighttime image of a homeless encampment on a city corner in Los Angeles. Research Brief / Wealth Inequality

Go Ahead, You Decide How Much Wealth Should Be Redistributed

Can modern decision theory, paired with a half-century-old thought experiment, help make a more just society?

Two students using a computer Research Brief / Education

Gender Gaps in School Performance

Socioeconomic factors magnify the boy-girl divide and can explain cross-race differences

Two hands push medication out of a green plastic container Research Brief / Health

Free Birth Control, Fewer Births

Unintended pregnancies decline when copays and patient fees are eliminated

Three modern apartment buildings and one building under construction Research Brief / Economics

France, Forcing Municipal Mergers, Achieves Growth in Housing Units

Construction permitting power taken from cities that resisted development

Fed Chair Jerome Powell stands at a podium and answers questions from the press Feature / Economics

Forecasting a Recession Using Easy-to-Grasp Images

A look at the shape of five variables through the last seven downturns vs. today’s numbers

Food delivery in China Research Brief / E-commerce

Food Delivery Apps: Driver Experience Turns Out to Be Crucial

A model improves on-time performance and yields more repeat business