…and 3) implementing sensible credit card and other consumer finance reform to explain deceptive practices and keep consumers out of the kinds of non-transparency traps they have faced in recent…
We all know our political system is “broken” — but what if that’s not true? Some say the Republicans and Democrats constitute a wildly successful industry that has colluded to…
Three former White House economists weigh in on the new tax bill. A sample: “The overwhelming evidence is that the trickle-down, magic-beanstalk beans argument — that’s just nonsense.”
…risk-free rate, modern finance essentially falls apart, since it is the building block of most financial models. People use it for determining everything from the value of a company, to…
When she’s not rescuing chickens from coyotes, Susan Athey uses economics to address real-world challenges — from online ad auctions to carbon capture technology….
We explore the science, scalability, and (of course) economics surrounding the global vaccine race. Guests include the chief medical officer of the first U.S. firm to go to Phase 3…
It’s the banking tool that got millions of people around the world to stop wasting money on the lottery. So why won’t state and federal officials in the U.S. give…
For the most part, Americans don’t like the simple,boring act of putting money in a savings account. We do, however, love to play the lottery. So what if you combined…
Japan’s Ministry of Finance is exploring a new avenue for selling government bonds: sexing them up. The new ad features five women and reads: “Men who hold JGBs are popular…
We blogged a while back about the sad state of financial literacy in this country. This has been diligently investigated by Annamaria Lusardi and Olivia S. Mitchell, who insert a…
Everyone agrees that massive deforestation is an environmental disaster. But most of the standard solutions — scolding the Brazilians, invoking universal morality — ignore the one solution that might actually…
…between jobs in finance and jobs in virtually every other part of society is sad. Q: How far are we away from hedge funds being a regulated investment option (and…
The junior U.S. Senator from New Jersey thinks bipartisanship is right around the corner. Is he just an idealistic newbie or does he see a way forward that everyone else…
We all know the answer is yes. But the data — and Rudy Giuliani — say no.
Steve loved Michael Lewis’s latest, The Premonition, but has one critique: Why aren’t there even more villains? Also, why the author of best-sellers Moneyball and The Big Short can barely…
…real solution is a savvy, committed electorate. Q: Would campaign finance reform eliminate some dirty tricks? A: The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) is little more than lawmakers creating new…
So you want to help people? That’s great — but beware the law of unintended consequences. Three stories from the modern workplace….
What do gamblers and referees have in common? When do machines make better decisions than people? And has Stephen been replaced by a computer?
We all know our political system is “broken” — but what if that’s not true? Some say the Republicans and Democrats constitute a wildly successful industry that has colluded to…
…am making things up as I go. He clearly knows the vast literature in banking and finance that makes some of these points about the costs of low rates. But…
…taken a loan in the previous year, with the majority of those loans (44%) coming from a bank or finance institution, and the rest coming from other sources, like moneylenders,…
Behavioral economists say “regret lotteries” are powerful motivational tools. When Philadelphia tried one in 2021, the results were disappointing. Bapu looks at how incentives can backfire — and what we…
In pursuit of a more perfect economy, we discuss the future of work, the toxic remnants of colonization, and whether giving everyone a basic income would be genius — or…
Climbing the corporate ladder to become head of Nike’s Jordan brand, he kept his teenage murder conviction a secret from employers. Larry talks about living in fear, accepting forgiveness, and…
New research finds that bosses who went to business school pay their workers less. So what are M.B.A. programs teaching — and should they stop?…
…allocated loans to a subset of applicants considered too risky and “unreliable” to be offered loans as regular borrowers of a well established MFI [micro-finance institution] in Bosnia. Our group…
It’s a centerpiece of U.S. climate policy and a sacred cow among environmentalists. Does it work?
…ones. Thus net transportation spending would increase less than advertised. Peter seemed to be missing out on the splendor that is transportation finance: In case you didn’t think the economic…
People who are good at their jobs routinely get promoted into bigger jobs they’re bad at. We explain why firms keep producing incompetent managers — and why that’s unlikely to…
…Erik Hurst wanted to let me know: “I found the missing macroeconomists.” To his eye, “the initial ‘shock’ to the economy was a finance shock,” and so, “they just happen…
