…Freakonomics Radio show tentatively titled “An Economist’s Guide to Parenting.” Economics, Genetics and Hippies By Bryan Caplan Non-economists often take offense if you tell them, “You’re wasting your time.” But…
Can a clever new study shed light on one of parenting’s most elusive and contentious questions?…
…subscriptions did get properly redirected last week, you will probably be unhappy about losing the full feed. 3. The partial feed that the Times been offering since the move was…
Ideas are currency. This couldn’t be more true in academia, where it’s the job of researchers to think of questions and, hopefully, find answers. Bapu talks with economists Steve Levitt…
Cecilia Rouse, the chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, is as cold-blooded as any economist. But she admits that her profession would do well to focus on…
The gist: the Nobel selection process is famously secretive (and conducted in Swedish!) but we pry the lid off, at least a little bit.
Smart government policies, good industrial relations, and high-end products have helped German manufacturing beat back the threats of globalization.
…uncover such ecological invalidity. His name was Amartya Sen, and he introduced himself as a philosopher, not as an economist. Furthermore, he look physically similar to the first economist (though…
Among O.E.C.D. nations, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of child poverty. Until recently, it looked as if Washington was about to change that. But then … Washington…
The end of the year is a giving season for many (I suppose a cynical economist might think tax deductions has something to do with it). Most of us like…
The former chairman of the Obama administration’s Council of Economic Advisors tells Steve how improv comedy was a better training ground for teaching than a Ph.D. from M.I.T., and why…
Thick markets, thin markets, and the triumph of attributes over compatibility.
Thick markets, thin markets, and the triumph of attributes over compatibility.
(iStockphoto) Is higher obesity due to the rise in driving? Perhaps. It’s an intriguing hypothesis. But our friends at The Economist should know better than to report nonsensical correlations. Here’s…
America’s top colleges are facing record demand. So why don’t they increase supply? (Part 2 of “Freakonomics Radio Goes Back to School.”)…
Most Americans agree that racial discrimination has been, and remains, a big problem. But that is where the agreement ends.
…about global warming? Here are their responses. Feel free to share yours as well. Yoram Bauman Yoram Bauman, an environmental economist at the University of Washington who has performed at…
Are you more likely to experience post-traumatic stress or post-traumatic growth? How does belief in the afterlife affect how you view death? And why did Angela hike a deadly gorge…
Among O.E.C.D. nations, the U.S. has one of the highest rates of child poverty. How can that be? To find out, Stephen Dubner speaks with a Republican senator, a Democratic…
Levitt rarely interviews advocates, but the founder of the Good Food Institute is different. Once an outspoken — and sometimes outlandish — animal-rights activist, Bruce has come to believe that…
…parents-who-become-economists view the world differently than economists-who-become-parents. And the proof? Well subsequent to our conversation, Robin posted a simple theory to explain my navel-gazing: Wolfers is usually an excellent economist,…
The pandemic has hit America’s biggest city particularly hard. Amidst a deep fiscal hole, rising homicides, and a flight to the suburbs, some people think the city is heading back…
…may also be true that newer collaborative robots (“cobots”) will totally reinvigorate how work gets done. That, at least, is what the economists are telling us. Should we believe them?…
It’s an acutely haphazard way of paying workers, and yet it keeps expanding. We dig into the data to find out why.
In this episode, we speculate what would happen if economists got to run the world. Hear from a high-end call girl; an Estonian who ran his country according to the…
Enrollment is down for the first time in memory, and critics complain college is too expensive, too elitist, and too politicized. The economist Chris Paxson — who happens to be…
…sports economist and professor of economics at Smith College. There’s a joke economists like to tell. Two finance economists are walking down the street. They spot a $20 bill and…
They are the most-trusted profession in America (and with good reason). They are critical to patient outcomes (especially in primary care). Could the growing army of nurse practitioners be an…
