Economics
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a sales manager hands paychecks to two sales associates in red shirts.
September 24, 2024

When the Minimum Wage Rises, Do Men and Women Benefit Equally?

The policy is gender-neutral. The impact, less so.

person pushing shopping cart with rockets and feathers inside
September 1, 2024

Why Do Prices Rise Like Rockets … but Fall Like Feathers?

Behavioral psychology sheds light on a longstanding economic puzzle.

Donald Trump speaks to a crowd.
August 12, 2024

Would Trump Escalate the U.S.–China Trade War?

If former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House, he would likely impose sweeping tariffs against China. His policy agenda would harm lower-income households the most.

August 8, 2024

5 Trends in a Volatile Global Economy

“We live in an interesting world, one with much upside as well as significant downside.”

robot greeting new employees at an office
July 30, 2024

Take 5: Work Is Changing. What Does the Future Hold?

Remote work, technology, and climate change are all set to transform the labor market. Here’s how.

a USA flag morphing into an Italy flag
June 17, 2024

Will America’s Economy Soon Look Like … Italy’s?

Why one Kellogg economist is worried that the U.S. is headed toward a low-growth future.

April 12, 2024

Humanizing the U.S.–China Relationship

Escalating tensions between U.S. and Chinese governments make preserving in-person interactions between ordinary Chinese and Americans even more important.

robot greeting new employees at an office
March 5, 2024

When New Technology Arrives, Who Wins and Who Loses?

For tools that assist but don’t replace workers, novices benefit, while experienced employees take a hit.

Car at ribbon cutting for road opening
March 1, 2024

How to Award Contracts When You’re Concerned about Quality

You want a good price, but you don’t want lousy workmanship. What’s a buyer to do?

Gilded age bureaucrat holding items on his desk as train passes outside window
February 1, 2024

How the Railroad Laid the Tracks for Modern Government

Technologies that allowed federal officials to monitor workers from afar played a key role in the emergence of the bureaucratic state.

Man sitting thinking
January 4, 2024

Why Are So Many Young Chinese Depressed?

It’s not just the economic slowdown. The country’s education system and social policies have created a disillusioned generation.

figure under streetlight
December 11, 2023

Investing Over-the-Counter—and Under the Radar

In most markets, buyers and sellers benefit from soliciting many offers. New research shows why the opposite is true for OTC traders.

woman crossing rope bridge
November 28, 2023

The Long Tail of China’s Zero-Covid Policy

As the costs of China’s pandemic experience are tallied, younger generations are confronting a disconcerting new reality.

group of younger employees waits outside older employees' offices
October 18, 2023

Why Younger Workers Just Can’t Get Ahead

In wealthy countries, the wage gap between older and younger workers is growing. A crowded promotion pathway could be to blame.

woman displaying graph
October 2, 2023

Is Chinese Youth Unemployment as Bad as It Looks?

China’s exceptional growth in recent decades has influenced the education and career choices of young people and their families. But now that high-skilled jobs are drying up and recent graduates are struggling to find work, there is a growing mismatch between expectations and new realities.

long line of soldiers marching single file through a field
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.

A graduate leaving university with a STEM degree.
July 27, 2023

Youth Unemployment and China’s Economic Future

For decades, China’s growth has followed the pattern of advanced economies, with rising incomes and educational attainment, shrinking family size, and growing female labor-force participation. But across these and other dimensions, the economy now appears to be going backward.

college graduate standing before Chinese flag
June 2, 2023

China’s Youth Unemployment Problem

If the record-breaking joblessness persists, as seems likely, China will have an even harder time supporting its rapidly aging population.

People pass an e-cigarette billboard
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.

robot waiter serves couple in restaurant
May 1, 2023

2 Factors Will Determine How Much AI Transforms Our Economy

They’ll also dictate how workers stand to fare.

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The Insightful Leader

July 15, 2024  ·  26:04 minutes