Quantcast

Latest News

Economists Weigh A New Approach To Unemployment Insurance

Study suggests automatically starting benefits at the outset of a recession would remove uncertainty for workers.

Study: Trade Can Worsen Income Inequality

Using Ecuador as case study, economists show international trade widens the income gap in individual countries.

When Politics Is Local In The Middle East

Study suggests sectarian identity in the region is tied to domestic matters, not a larger, transnational religious split.

Review: IT In Health Care Has Produced Modest Changes — So Far

Large study of existing research shows incremental improvement in patient outcomes and productivity, without big employment changes.

Measuring The “Woodwork Effect” In Medical Insurance

Study: When adults gain access to Medicaid, they sign up their previously unenrolled kids, too — yet many more remain outside the system.

Physician, Heal Thyself?

Research shows doctors and their families are less likely to follow guidelines about medicine. Why do the medically well-informed comply less often?

Should We Tax Robots?

Study suggests a robot levy — but only a modest one — could help combat the effects of automation on income inequality in the U.S.

Study: Immigrants In The U.S. Are More Likely To Start Firms, Create Jobs

Compared to native-born citizens, immigrants are more frequently involved in founding companies at all scales.

Study: Preschool Gives A Big Boost To College Attendance

Research using a Boston admissions lottery shows striking effects for children throughout their student lives.

How Debit Cards Helped Indonesia’s Poor Get More Food

Replacing rice-bag delivery with digital card vouchers helps recipients get their intended supplies, researchers report.

Illuminating The Money Trail

MIT political scientist In Song Kim shines a bright light on the dark art of political lobbying.

The Power Of Weak Ties In Gaining New Employment

An experiment using data from 20 million LinkedIn profiles shows how much we rely on people we know less well to land new jobs.

Springing People From The Poverty Trap

Field experiment in Bangladesh shows the poor simply lack opportunities to gain wealth — but a one-time boost can make a major difference.

Study: Automation Drives Income Inequality

New data suggest most of the growth in the wage gap since 1980 comes from automation displacing less-educated workers.

Can Your Phone Tell If a Bridge Is in Good Shape?

A new study suggests mobile data collected while traveling over bridges could help evaluate their integrity.

Measuring the “Woodwork Effect” in Medical Insurance

Study: When adults gain access to Medicaid, they sign up their previously unenrolled kids, too — yet many more remain outside the system.

Review: IT in Health Care Has Produced Modest Changes — So Far

Large study of existing research shows incremental improvement in patient outcomes and productivity, without big employment changes.

Economists Weigh a New Approach to Unemployment Insurance

Study suggests automatically starting benefits at the outset of a recession would remove uncertainty for workers.

What Lies Beneath

In a new book, an MIT scholar examines how game-theory logic underpins many of our seemingly odd and irrational decisions.