Economics
Lower-Income Employees Are More Likely to Remain at 401(k) Defaults, Even If It Costs Them Money
Automatically enrolling employees in retirement plans is a powerful tool for increasing savings. But Yale SOM’s James Choi and his coauthors find that once enrolled, people with lower incomes are more likely to remain at default contribution rates, even if they aren’t optimal.
The Practical Game Theorist
Prof. Barry Nalebuff extracts pragmatic insights from game theory to improve the practice of innovation, strategy, and negotiation.
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.
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.
What Can Smartphone Location Data Tell Us about the Pandemic?
Yale SOM’s Kevin Williams and his co-authors used cellphone location data to create a data set tracking movement during COVID-19, which is publicly available for researchers.
Video: Why You Should Care about Antitrust
We asked Prof. Fiona Scott Morton, former chief economist for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the founder of the Thurman Arnold Project at Yale, to explain why antitrust violations are bad for consumers and how the government can respond.
How Is the Airline Industry Adapting to COVID?
Debilitated by COVID-19, airlines are preparing to cut more than 30,000 jobs as soon as next month. We asked Prof. Kevin Williams to explain some of the economics of air travel and how the industry can survive in an age of stay-at-home orders.
Can Religious Teachings Help Lift People Out of Poverty?
A study in the Philippines, co-authored by Yale SOM’s James Choi, suggests that learning Protestant Christian values and theology can boost poor families’ income.
Choosing the Wrong Health Insurance Could Kill You
Yale SOM’s Jason Abaluck and his co-authors calculated that the Medicare Advantage plans appreciably influence the survival rates of their enrollees. Shutting down the plans with the highest mortality rates could save thousands of lives per year.
Facebook’s Dominance Is Built on Anti-Competitive Behavior
In a new paper, Yale SOM’s Fiona Scott Morton writes that the company took control of the social media industry by misleading consumers and buying up rivals.
U.S. Jobs Numbers Show an Uptick from a Grim Baseline
We asked labor economist Barbara Biasi what can be understood from the latest Employment Situation Summary—including whether the numbers are accurately reflecting the effects of a fast-moving crisis.
