Economics
Are Elon Musk’s Politics Driving Away Tesla’s Customers?
A new Yale working paper sets out to quantify the effect of the controversies over Musk’s transformation of Twitter and his time leading DOGE, and finds that they may have cost Tesla one million sales.
Without a Local Newspaper, Americans Pay Less Attention to Local Politics
Prof. Michael Sinkinson and his co-authors look back at when television, not the internet, was the new technology chipping away at newspaper circulation. They find that when readership diminished, engagement with local politics did too.
How the ‘Nixon Shock’ Remade the World Economy
In a new book, Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Garten explores Richard Nixon’s decision to delink the dollar from gold, which remade the global monetary system in an instant.
Can ‘Sin Taxes’ Do a Better Job?
A new study co-authored by Yale SOM’s Katja Seim examines how successful the uniform liquor tax in Pennsylvania is at generating revenue and discourage drinking, and concludes that a uniform tax leads to higher prices on products bought disproportionately in high-income areas when compared to a more variable approach, effectively subsidizing liquor consumption in low-income areas.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
