Policy & the Economy

February 3, 2017
Should You Hire Someone with a Criminal Record?
Companies that give ex-offenders a fresh start may be rewarded with employees who stick around.
Dylan Minor, Nicola Persico and Deborah M. Weiss

February 2, 2017
What Volkswagen's Emissions Scandal Can Teach Us about Why Companies Cheat
Tighter standards may backfire in industries with fierce competition.
Kejia Hu and Sunil Chopra

January 6, 2017
Why Are We So Quick to Excuse Drunken Behavior?
From criminal sentencing to corporate indiscretions, we hold people less accountable when alcohol is involved.
Kelly Goldsmith, Hal Ersner-Hershfield and Chelsea Galoni

January 5, 2017
Under the ACA, the Cost of Caring for the Uninsured Decreased for Hospitals
The benefit has come only in states that expanded Medicaid.
David Dranove, Craig Garthwaite and Christopher Ody

December 2, 2016
How Drinking Beer Is Saving Russian Lives
Decades later, a Soviet public health initiative is still increasing male life expectancy.
Lorenz Kueng and Evgeny Yakovlev

December 2, 2016
The Hidden Benefits of TV Drug Ads
Patients and taxpayers benefit from controversial direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising.
Michael Sinkinson and Amanda Starc

November 2, 2016
Why Sending Your Kid to the Best Possible School May Backfire
Being surrounded by smarter peers can hurt test scores and incite disruptive behavior.
Steve Cicala, Roland G. Fryer Jr. and Jörg L. Spenkuch

November 2, 2016
Higher Taxes Can Make Altruistic Jobs More Attractive
But subsidizing these careers may ultimately do more good.
Benjamin B. Lockwood, Charles Nathanson and E. Glen Weyl

October 10, 2016
Christine Lagarde on Income Inequality, Brexit, and the Power of M&Ms
A Q&A with the IMF managing director and Kellogg’s Sergio Rebelo.
Christine Lagarde and Sergio Rebelo

September 7, 2016
Does the H-1B Visa Program Hurt American Workers?
At least in one industry, these applicants appear to take jobs others do not want.
Daniel Aobdia, Anup Srivastava and Erqiu Wang

August 1, 2016
How Much Do Brokerage Firms Benefit from Political Connections?
Politicians can’t trade on insider information—but the firms they talk to can.
Dane M. Christensen, Michael B. Mikhail, Beverly Walther and Laura A. Wellman

May 5, 2016
Is Reading Someone’s Emails Like Entering Their Home?
How conceptions of privacy change over time and how analogies pave the way.
Kartikeya Bajpai and Klaus Weber

May 5, 2016
Can Raising the Capital Gains Tax Rate Ever Attract Investors?
The traditional view that raising rates hurts firms deserves a closer look.
Luzi Hail, Stephanie Sikes and Clare Wang

April 4, 2016
How Much Will You Pay Today for a Better Tomorrow?
How we answer that question has the power to shape climate-change policy.
David Amdur, Donald Dale, Christopher Borick and Barry G. Rabe

April 4, 2016
Why Did Car Sales Drop So Dramatically During the Financial Crisis?
Even willing buyers were affected by a credit freeze.
Efraim Benmelech, Ralf R. Meisenzahl and Rodney Ramcharan

February 1, 2016
There Is a Downside to Increased Enrollment in Higher Ed
How opening the floodgates can hurt the classroom experience.
Nicola Bianchi

February 1, 2016
Why Healthcare Spending Has Slowed
Is the Affordable Care Act getting too much credit?
David Dranove, Craig Garthwaite and Christopher Ody

February 1, 2016
Does Democracy Curb Corruption?
A clever study investigates the link between where roads are built and who is in power.
Robin Burgess, Remi Jedwab, Edward Miguel, Ameet Morjaria and Gerard Padró i Miquel

January 4, 2016
Can the Private Sector Solve the U.S. Infrastructure Crisis?
Why it may take public-private partnerships to keep our bridges from crumbling.
David A. Besanko

January 4, 2016
How Hateful Rhetoric Can Create a Vicious Cycle of Dehumanization
The way we feel perceived can have dangerous consequences.
Nour Kteily, Gordon Hodson and Emile Bruneau
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