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All Insights Articles

  • Can China Reverse Its Economic Slump?

    Earlier this week, the Chinese central bank unexpectedly cut a key interest rate in an effort to reinvigorate a stalling economy. We asked Yale’s Stephen Roach about the outlook for China and the rest of the world.

    The sun setting over a vast field of shipping containers
  • Did ‘Lockdown Fatigue’ Diminish the Effectiveness of COVID-19 Restrictions?

    COVID-19 restrictions on group gatherings and businesses stretched on for months. Did they continue to save lives? In a new study, Yale SOM’s Matthew Spiegel examines how the effectiveness of restrictions evolved over time.

    A socially distanced and masked staff meeting
  • Ratings Systems Amplify Racial Bias on Gig-Economy Platforms

    A new Yale SOM study found that the five-star ratings on platforms like Uber and TaskRabbit can spread the effects of racial discrimination by displaying ratings from biased users to those who otherwise would not discriminate.

    An illustration of a ride-share driver with thumbs up and thumbs down ratings emerging from the rear windows of his car.
  • Bringing the Economist’s Tool Kit to the Policies that Shape Markets 

    Katja Seim, the Sharon Oster Professor of Economics and Management, investigates the complex forces behind the infrastructure of everyday life with an aim of enabling data-driven improvement to policy tools and making markets function better.

    Katja Seim
  • The Secret of the Barbie Movie’s Marketing Success

    Barbie is a genuine phenomenon, reaching $1 billion in worldwide box office in only three weeks on the strength of legions of pink-clad moviegoers. We asked Yale SOM’s Zoe Chance, a former Mattel brand manager, about the movie’s marketing and message.

    Fans in New York’s Times Square wearing Barbie clothes for the opening of Barbie movie on July 21, 2023.
  • Did Student Loan Forbearance Push Distressed Borrowers Further into Debt?

    In a new study, Yale SOM’s Heather Tookes and her co-authors find that after loan forebearance went into effect in March 2020, distressed borrowers’ credit scores jumped. That allowed them to take on more credit card and auto debt—and, eventually, led to higher rates of delinquencies.

    An illustration of a graduate trying to escape a storm of debt while running on top of credit cards.
  • The Critics of Bidenomics Are Being Proven Wrong

    Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian write that much of the credit for the economic good news belongs to President Joe Biden and his transformative public investment programs.

    Joe Biden speaking in front of a "Bidenomics" sign
  • The Art and Science of Delivering Impact

    To take on the problems associated with poverty in New York City, Emary Aronson ’97, chief knowledge officer of the Robin Hood Foundation, takes a data-driven and heart-led approach. She describes how the organization has focused on outcomes and been able to pivot quickly to lead emergency relief efforts.

    A truck submerged in water with the Manhattan skyline in the background
  • As Incomes Rise, Variability in Happiness Shrinks

    New research from Yale SOM’s Gal Zauberman and former postdoc Bouke Klein Teeselink finds there’s both lower average happiness and greater happiness inequality among those with lower incomes.

    An illustration showing progressively happier emoji from left to right
  • Can You Make a Donation Today—and Tell All Your Friends?

    Sharing information about our charitable donations can multiply their impact. Prof. Deborah Small tested whether reframing why a donor should disclose a gift can help encourage them to spread the good news.

    An illustration of a woman peaking through curtains in front of a gift box