Policy & the Economy
February 23, 2024
The Dos and Don’ts of Regulating AI
How can governments capitalize on AI’s benefits while minimizing its dangers? New research examines several policies—and identifies a promising approach.
João Guerreiro, Sergio Rebelo and Pedro Teles
February 23, 2024
What’s at Stake in the UFC Antitrust Case?
The outcome of the mixed-martial-arts saga could have wide-ranging implications for the future of global sports entertainment.
Mark McCareins
January 2, 2024
Community Revitalization Is Hard to Get Right. Here’s How It Can Succeed.
“The basic amenities people want are pretty universal, but every community has its own priorities and ideals.”
William Towns
January 1, 2024
How Should Global Cities Manage an Influx of Wealthy Foreign Residents?
In an age of remote work, the trend will only continue. So how can governments take advantage of the benefits while mitigating the harms?
João Guerreiro, Sergio Rebelo and Pedro Teles
November 1, 2023
When Your Savings Account Is Also a Lottery Ticket
Prize-linked savings accounts can be more enticing to customers than interest rates—and banks like them, too.
Paul Gertler, Sean Higgins, Aisling Scott and Enrique Seira
November 1, 2023
In a Warming U.S., Smaller Manufacturers Are Feeling the Heat
Smaller firms struggle in the face of temperature shocks, while larger ones are less affected—a trend that is driving industry consolidation.
Jacopo Ponticelli, Qiping Xu and Stefan Zeume
October 6, 2023
Can We Build a Better Prescription Drug Market?
Medicare will soon be able to negotiate directly with drug makers. But one economist explains why “the goal should be to increase value, not just lower prices.”
Amanda Starc
October 5, 2023
Big Tech Takes the Stand
Google may look like a monopoly, but is its power actually hurting consumers? A legal expert weighs in.
Mark McCareins
September 1, 2023
Why Do Long Wars Happen?
War is a highly inefficient way of dividing contested resources—yet conflicts endure when there are powerful incentives to feign strength.
Sandeep Baliga and Tomas Sjöström
August 16, 2023
Social-Media Algorithms Have Hijacked “Social Learning”
We make sense of the world by observing and mimicking others, but digital platforms throw that process into turmoil. Can anything be done?
William Brady, Joshua Conrad Jackson, Björn Lindström and M.J. Crockett
August 10, 2023
How Autocracies Unravel
Over time, leaders grow more repressive and cling to yes-men—a cycle that’s playing out today in Putin’s Russia.
Georgy Egorov and Konstantin Sonin
August 1, 2023
How Data Tracking Is Changing—and What That Means for You
Tech companies are phasing out cookies. Will consumers finally see meaningful privacy protections?
Guy Aridor
July 1, 2023
How to Prepare for AI-Generated Misinformation
“We have to be careful not to get distracted by sci-fi issues and focus on concrete risks that are the most pressing.”
William Brady
July 1, 2023
Will the PGA–LIV Golf Merger Pass the Antitrust Test?
“Statements that LIV has made about breaking up the monopoly of the PGA may come back to haunt them.”
Mark McCareins
June 30, 2023
The Supreme Court Ended Race-Conscious Admissions. A Sociologist Who Studies Bias in Elite Spaces Is Worried about the Ramifications.
“The decision represents a fundamental misunderstanding or misrecognition of what we know from science about how discrimination works.”
Lauren Rivera
May 22, 2023
What’s at Stake in the Debt-Ceiling Standoff?
Defaulting would be an unmitigated disaster, quickly felt by ordinary Americans.
David A. Besanko
May 16, 2023
Take 5: Yikes! When Unintended Consequences Strike
Good intentions don’t always mean good results. Here’s why humility, and a lot of monitoring, are so important when making big changes.
Sunil Chopra, Jacopo Ponticelli, Anna Tuchman, Erika Deserranno and Jörg L. Spenkuch
April 21, 2023
Banning China from Owning U.S. Farmland Will Achieve Nothing
A new bipartisan bill would prohibit anyone associated with “foreign adversaries” like China from purchasing U.S. farmland. While protecting the U.S. food system and making farmland more affordable to domestic producers by limiting foreign ownership may seem plausible on paper, the reality is more complicated.
Nancy Qian
January 21, 2023
Take 5: What We’ve Learned about Tackling Public-Health Crises
Covid-era research sheds light on how policymakers can guide the economy and the public through future emergencies.
Scott R. Baker, Efraim Benmelech, Paola Sapienza, Angela Y. Lee, Benjamin F. Jones, Ryan Hill, Dashun Wang and and coauthors
December 22, 2022
In a World of Widespread Video Sharing, What’s Real and What’s Not?
A discussion with a video-authentication expert on what it takes to unearth “deepfakes.”
Nicola Persico and Bertram Lyons
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