Policy & the Economy
![a USA flag morphing into an Italy flag](/imager/clientcontent/413853/Full_0624_USAITALY-Flag_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/413853/Full_0624_USAITALY-Flag_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/413853/Full_0624_USAITALY-Flag_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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.
Nicola Persico
![](/imager/clientcontent/298104/Full_0222_BreakoutStars04_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/298104/Full_0222_BreakoutStars04_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/298104/Full_0222_BreakoutStars04_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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.
Nancy Qian
![robot greeting new employees at an office](/imager/clientcontent/392402/Full_0324_robot_orientation_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/392402/Full_0324_robot_orientation_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/392402/Full_0324_robot_orientation_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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.
Leonid Kogan, Dimitris Papanikolaou, Lawrence Schmidt and Bryan Seegmiller
![Car at ribbon cutting for road opening](/imager/clientcontent/392265/Full_0324_infrastructure_auctions_still_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/392265/Full_0324_infrastructure_auctions_still_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/392265/Full_0324_infrastructure_auctions_still_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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?
Giuseppe Lopomo, Nicola Persico and Alessandro T. Villa
![Gilded age bureaucrat holding items on his desk as train passes outside window](/imager/clientcontent/379824/FULL_1223_bureaucracy_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/379824/FULL_1223_bureaucracy_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/379824/FULL_1223_bureaucracy_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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.
Nicola Mastrorocco and Edoardo Teso
![Man sitting thinking](/imager/clientcontent/251673/Full_1220_Emotional_intelligence_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/251673/Full_1220_Emotional_intelligence_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/251673/Full_1220_Emotional_intelligence_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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.
Nancy Qian
![figure under streetlight](/imager/clientcontent/381617/Full-1223-Over-the-Counter_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/381617/Full-1223-Over-the-Counter_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/381617/Full-1223-Over-the-Counter_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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.
Markus Baldauf and Joshua Mollner
![woman crossing rope bridge](/imager/clientcontent/247149/Full-1020-Heroes-Journey_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/247149/Full-1020-Heroes-Journey_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/247149/Full-1020-Heroes-Journey_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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.
Nancy Qian
![group of younger employees waits outside older employees' offices](/imager/clientcontent/375097/Full_1023_age_wage_gap2_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/375097/Full_1023_age_wage_gap2_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/375097/Full_1023_age_wage_gap2_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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.
Nicola Bianchi and Matteo Paradisi
![woman displaying graph](/imager/clientcontent/372916/Full_1023_China-unemployment_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/372916/Full_1023_China-unemployment_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/372916/Full_1023_China-unemployment_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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.
Nancy Qian
![long line of soldiers marching single file through a field](/imager/clientcontent/367331/Full_0923_long_war_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/367331/Full_0923_long_war_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/367331/Full_0923_long_war_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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
![A graduate leaving university with a STEM degree.](/imager/clientcontent/35662/STEM_degrees_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/35662/STEM_degrees_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/35662/STEM_degrees_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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.
Nancy Qian
![college graduate standing before Chinese flag](/imager/clientcontent/359052/Full_0623_china_unemployment_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/359052/Full_0623_china_unemployment_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/359052/Full_0623_china_unemployment_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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.
Nancy Qian
![People pass an e-cigarette billboard](/imager/clientcontent/60487/smoker_alt_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/60487/smoker_alt_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/60487/smoker_alt_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
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
![robot waiter serves couple in restaurant](/imager/clientcontent/352920/Full_0423_automation_future_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/352920/Full_0423_automation_future_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/352920/Full_0423_automation_future_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
May 1, 2023
2 Factors Will Determine How Much AI Transforms Our Economy
They’ll also dictate how workers stand to fare.
Benjamin F. Jones
![business power couple atop wedding cake](/imager/clientcontent/351593/Full_0423_wedding_cake_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/351593/Full_0423_wedding_cake_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/351593/Full_0423_wedding_cake_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
April 1, 2023
How Marriages Are Exacerbating Income Inequality
Marriage patterns can account for 40 percent of rising inequality, according to a new study.
Almar Frederik, Benjamin Friedrich, Ana Reynoso, Bastian Schulz and Rune Vejlin
![inflatable dollar sign tied down with mountains in background](/imager/clientcontent/307792/Full_0522_Inflation_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/307792/Full_0522_Inflation_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/307792/Full_0522_Inflation_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
January 25, 2023
6 Takeaways on Inflation and the Economy Right Now
Are we headed into a recession? Kellogg’s Sergio Rebelo breaks down the latest trends.
Sergio Rebelo
![](/imager/clientcontent/335758/China-TheInsightfulLeader_bubble58_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/335758/China-TheInsightfulLeader_bubble58_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/335758/China-TheInsightfulLeader_bubble58_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
December 23, 2022
Podcast: China’s Economy Is in Flux. Here’s What American Businesses Need to Know.
On this episode of The Insightful Leader: the end of “Zero Covid,” escalating geopolitical tensions, and China’s potentially irreplaceable role in the global supply chain.
Nancy Qian, Benjamin F. Jones and David Dollar
![The world wonders what caused the great recession.](/imager/clientcontent/8096/Full_1222_china_us_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/8096/Full_1222_china_us_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/8096/Full_1222_china_us_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
December 22, 2022
What Do American Businesses Need to Understand about China Right Now?
As China’s zero-Covid policy ends, it’s time to take stock of where the world’s second largest economy may be headed.
Nancy Qian, Benjamin F. Jones and David Dollar
![an accountant and a robot accountant wearing green visors work back-to-back at desks.](/imager/clientcontent/330925/Full_1222_automation_replacement_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/330925/Full_1222_automation_replacement_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/330925/Full_1222_automation_replacement_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
December 6, 2022
Which Workers Suffer Most When New Technology Arrives?
It’s not necessarily who you think.
Leonid Kogan, Dimitris Papanikolaou, Lawrence Schmidt and Bryan Seegmiller
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The Insightful Leader
July 22, 2024 · 49:33 minutes
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