Policy & the Economy

February 2, 2023
Consumers Lose Out When Health Insurers Offer Lots of Plans
While extra choices are usually considered a good thing, insurers are able to use them strategically to maximize profits.
Hector Chade, Victoria Marone, Amanda Starc and Jeroen Swinkels

February 1, 2023
Will AI Eventually Replace Doctors?
Maybe not entirely. But the doctor–patient relationship is likely to change dramatically.
David Dranove and Craig Garthwaite

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

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

January 1, 2023
Partisanship Doesn’t Just Color Our View of Facts—It Alters How We Think about Hypotheticals
New research sheds light on how polarization can shape our counterfactual thinking.
Kai Epstude, Daniel J. Effron and Neal J. Roese

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

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

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

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

December 1, 2022
What Happens to Worker Productivity after a Minimum Wage Increase?
A pay raise boosts productivity for some—but the impact on the bottom line is more complicated.
Decio Coviello, Erika Deserranno and Nicola Persico

December 1, 2022
How COVID Changed the Way Americans Think about Economic Inequality
For some, the pandemic laid bare the social factors that can keep people down. But not everyone adopted a new perspective.
Hannah J. Birnbaum, Andrea G. Dittmann, Nicole Stephens, Ellen C. Reinhart, Rebecca M. Carey and Hazel Rose Markus

December 1, 2022
4 Science-Backed Strategies to Curb Partisan Animosity
Vilification of the other side is at a fever pitch. But research suggests ways to bridge the gap.
Eli J. Finkel and and coauthors

November 28, 2022
Post-War Reconstruction Is a Good Investment
Ukraine’s European neighbors will need to make a major financial commitment to help rebuild its economy after the war. Fortunately, as the legacy of the post–World War II Marshall Plan shows, investing in Ukraine’s future will also serve Europe’s own long-term interests.
Nancy Qian

November 1, 2022
How Experts Make Complex Decisions
By studying 200 million chess moves, researchers shed light on what gives players an advantage—and what trips them up.
Yuval Salant and Jörg L. Spenkuch

October 28, 2022
Why Are So Many Politicians Embracing Conspiracy Theories?
Conspiratorial thinking has always been attractive in times of uncertainty—but it’s become more mainstream. An expert explains why, and whether anything can be done.
Cynthia S. Wang

October 13, 2022
What the New Climate Bill Means for the U.S.—and the World
The Inflation Reduction Act won’t reverse inflation or halt climate change, but it’s still a big deal.
David A. Besanko

October 1, 2022
Who Should Win the Tug-of-War over User Data?
It’s not always clear whether businesses or consumers should have more control. Research offers a new way of thinking through the problem.
Sarit Markovich and Taron Yehezkel

October 1, 2022
Why Did So Many Ukrainians Die in the Soviet Great Famine?
They perished at a much higher rate than ethnic Russians during what’s known as Holodomor. A new study suggests this was a deliberate policy decision.
Andrei Markevich, Natalya Naumenko and Nancy Qian

October 1, 2022
When Do People Protest and When Do They Just Grumble? History Offers Clues.
A tradition of anti-government uprisings can impact communities centuries later.
Meng Miao and Jacopo Ponticelli

October 1, 2022
How We Justify Our Unpopular Opinions
The tactic makes controversial views more palatable to others—and has implications for the rampant spread of fake news.
Leonardo Bursztyn, Georgy Egorov, Ingar K. Haaland, Aakaash Rao and Christopher Roth
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