Economics
Can Congress Create Real Competition for Big Tech?
Last week, members of Congress from both parties introduced a series of bills to curtail the dominance of the major technology firms. We asked Prof. Fiona Scott Morton if the proposed legislation would help level the playing field.
Century-Old Harvard Records Show How Social Connections Help the Elite
A study co-authored by Yale SOM’s Seth Zimmerman, drawing on a trove of archival student records, suggests that membership in exclusive clubs propelled students from the top prep schools to higher incomes, while good grades did little to lift other students into the top-earning tier.
![A group portrait of students from 1930 in academic robes]()
Social Media Is Addictive. Do Regulators Need to Step In?
Yale SOM’s Fiona Scott Morton and her co-authors argue that smarter and more robust antitrust enforcement can help, by making room for new social media platforms that promote themselves as healthier alternatives.
![An illustration of someone reaching through a smartphone screen and reaching for likes and other social media icons]()
Does Health Insurance Improve Individuals’ Financial Health?
In a new paper, Yale SOM’s Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham and his co-authors find that when Americans turn 65 and start to receive health insurance through Medicare, there is a measurable decline in debt, particularly in the South and among those with the greatest debt.
![An illustration of balloons with healthcare symbols lifting a woman out of a pile of bills]()
To Extend Vaccines’ Reach, Distribute Them through Dollar Stores
A new Yale study says that a partnership with the Dollar General retail chain, which is being considered by the CDC, could bring vaccination sites substantially closer to low-income, Black, and Hispanic households in many parts of the United States.
![A Dollar General Store in Selma, Alabama. Photo: Barry Lewis/InPictures via Getty Images.]()
Skilled Workers Flee from Polluted Cities, Hampering Economic Growth
In China, highly educated people are more likely to move away from areas with poor air quality. Reducing pollution could substantially increase GDP there and in other countries, according to a new study co-authored by Yale SOM’s Mushfiq Mobarak.
![A cyclist in Beijing on a day of heavy pollution in December 2015.]()
Study: Improved Video Game Technology Contributed to Decline in Work by Younger Men
Between the 2000s and the 2010s, weekly recreational computer use by men in their 20s rose by 2.7 hours; at the same time, working hours for this group dropped by 1.8 hours. A study co-authored by Yale SOM Dean Kerwin K. Charles concludes that improving technology caused much of the increase in gaming, and nearly half of the decline in working hours for young men.
![A young man wearing a headset playing a video game, seen from behind]()
How Firms Can Harness Internal Competition
A new study finds that pitting teams against each other is effective in clarifying the way forward. But once a decision is made about which path to pursue, everybody must rally around the chosen idea—and not look back.
![An illustration of a CEO watching two teams building structures]()
The Practical Game Theorist
Prof. Barry Nalebuff extracts pragmatic insights from game theory to improve the practice of innovation, strategy, and negotiation.
![Barry Nalebuff]()
Did Congress Just Fix Surprise Medical Billing?
A new federal law prevents patients from being billed by out-of-network doctors after being treated in an in-network hospital. We asked Prof. Fiona Scott Morton, whose research helped bring the practice to light, what the new law will mean for patients and healthcare costs.
![An emergency room in Moreno Valley, California, in May 2020. Photo: Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.]()
Weakening Unions Can Lead to Gender Gap in Wages
In 2011, legislation in Wisconsin reduced the power of unions to negotiate teachers’ salaries. Within five years, male teachers started earning more than women did.
![Teachers protesting Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's proposal to eliminate collective bargaining for state workers, in 2010. Photo: Mark Hirsch/Getty Images.]()
