Economics
A Modernized New Deal Could Revive the American Agriculture Industry
U.S. agriculture needs to make a systemwide shift that cuts carbon emissions, reduces vulnerability to climate chaos and prioritizes economic justice.
Exactly How Much Has Global Warming Exacerbated Global Economic Inequality?
A chat with one of the authors of a recent study reporting that global warming has slowed the progress of warm countries.
Areas Where More Immigrants Settled a Century Ago Have Stronger Economies Today
The evidence suggests that, in the long run, immigration is good for America.
For Communities of Color, Nearby Industry Leads to Pollution but Not Employment
Vulnerable communities of color living in the shadow of U.S. industry tend to suffer more than they gain.
Why Science Needs More Diversity
Without broad participation, science will lose its economic power and legitimacy.
The Limits of Corporate Activism
Corporations can help apply positive pressure for social change, but their profit motives should make us wary of letting them displace moral leaders.
The Power of Peers in Anti-Poverty Programs
Some new anti-poverty programs are encouraging participants to form connections with others who are going through similar life challenges, offering success through companionship.
Life and Death in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico's health crisis was 100 years in the making.
The Congressional Bill That Puts Profit Over Public Health
The Regulatory Accountability Act would subject the rule-making process to red tape.
How Leisure Time Transformed Society and Politics
With their newfound spare time in the post-war era, many Americans joined clubs and started attending meetings that rapidly changed political parties in the United States.
How Tribalism Influences Our Financial Decisions
Americans will hurt themselves financially to avoid benefiting the other political party.
How Public-Sector Crowdfunding Can Influence Government Decision-Making
With crowdfunding, even though lots of people can make a big difference, it still tends to be people with money to give who will be the ones giving it.
Florida's Dependence on Gas Has Repeatedly Left the State Vulnerable During Natural Disasters
Fuel shortages linked to the two recent hurricanes hindered evacuation and now recovery, highlighting our dependency on a fragile resource.
Plans for the Trumps' New Hotels Are Full of False Starts and Fizzled-Out Partnerships
For a number of cities that the Trumps said they had deals in, there is no evidence of deals at all.
Hurricane Irma Reveals Exploitative Pricing Strategies Common in Many Industries, Especially Airlines
The practice, called dynamic pricing, is intended to ration scarce goods and services, but it primarily harms consumers by making it easier for companies to fleece them.
Silicon Valley's Growing Failure to Create Places for People
Poor planning didn't just aggravate the area's housing problem: it helped create the Valley's growing empathy gap.
The Difficult Proposition of Getting Corporations Out of University Science
Universities need corporations for research funding, and the political will for an alternative solution is limited.
What It Means to Be Working in America Today
For Labor Day, a selection of our most recent stories on the American worker.
What's Missing From Our Understanding of Affordable Housing?
Housing, as a social policy, is something that's been litigated—and re-litigated—for decades, and quite vigorously so.
New Evidence That Selling Clothes on Facebook May Not Be Such a Great Gig
LuLaRoe sellers are complaining that, in some cities, they're vying with too many competitors.
Generic Drug Prices Are Dropping, but Who Is This Really Benefiting?
It seems that overall drug spending is still on the rise because of the skyrocketing price of new, brand-name drugs.
The Absence of Valuing Unpaid Care Work
Items covered by measuring national income get plenty of attention, while those not within this rigid framework often fall by the wayside. Case in point: unpaid care work.
New Database Examines How the United States Prosecutes Corporate Crime
Fines for companies have risen over the last 25 years, but the number of prosecutions has remained roughly the same, according to information compiled by a University of Virginia law professor and his research team.