All Insights Articles

As legislators negotiate comprehensive immigration reform, Professor Mushfiq Mobarak explains, in a commentary in the New York Times, the importance of skilled foreign workers in sustaining the United States’ comparative advantage in science and innovation.

At the moment we consume, say, a chocolate bar, our brains seamlessly synthesize sensory phenomena, ideas, memories, and expectations—which means that we often don't fully understand why we like the things we like. Psychologist Paul Bloom describes how storytelling and marketing can add layers of meaning to our pleasures.

Professor Marissa King compared the prescribing patterns of doctors who graduated before and after their medical schools introduced conflict-of-interest policies that restrict industry gifts. Her research showed that doctors who experienced gift restrictions during medical training are less likely to prescribe newly marketed medications.

New research is debunking myths about microfinance and showing how organizations can effectively address problems associated with poverty. Yale faculty Dean Karlan, Tony Sheldon, and Rodrigo Canales discuss the problems and the promise in the field of microfinance and the lessons for other kinds of social enterprise.

Professor Marissa King mapped the geographic patterns of the use of antidepressants, antipsychotics, and stimulants across the United States. She identified large regional clusters, centered on Tennessee, where use of these drug classes were elevated.

The former president of Colombia argues that dealing with globalization is an imperative for all countries. He describes how he tried to build relationships with other nations when he was head of state, with an eye toward working together to solve major problems—such as narco-trafficking, terrorism, and resource constraints—that cross borders.

Guilt may be a key mechanism for enhancing pleasure, according to new research co-authored by Professor Ravi Dhar.

A new working paper co-authored by Professor Peter Schott links the sharp decrease in U.S. manufacturing employment after 2001 to a substantial shift in U.S. trade policy towards China in late 2000.

Any large organization has multiple stakeholders with different needs. And a truly global business has to deal with tremendous variation in cultural and regulatory contexts. For example, in the U.S., per capita credit card penetration is 2.5—meaning there are more than 2 credit cards for each person in the country. In Saudi Arabia, where Islam forbids the use of credit, the penetration rate is .04. How can a company cope with exponentially increasing complexity as it moves to more and more markets? And are there some businesses that don't translate easily—or at all—across borders?

The cost to produce energy from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, has fallen dramatically in recent decades, but so has the cost of natural gas. Daniel Gross, a renewable energy investor, discusses what it will take to make wind and solar cost-competitive.