Economists weigh a new approach to unemployment insurance
Study suggests automatically starting benefits at the outset of a recession would remove uncertainty for workers.
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How the debt crisis of 2008-09 fueled populist politics
Research shows that in Hungary, debt drove voters to the right, as part of a consequential shift.
Study: Trade can worsen income inequality
Using Ecuador as case study, economists show international trade widens the income gap in individual countries.
When politics is local in the Middle East
Study suggests sectarian identity in the region is tied to domestic matters, not a larger, transnational religious split.
Virtual worlds apart
Paul Roquet’s new book traces the very different trajectories of virtual reality in the U.S. and Japan.
President Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson of Iceland visits MIT
Delegation meets campus leaders, with an eye toward AI applications and the Icelandic language.
From South Africa, a success story for democracy
In a new book, MIT political scientist Evan Lieberman examines a quarter-century of post-Apartheid government and finds meaningful progress.
When dueling narratives deepen a divide
At the latest Starr Forum, John Tirman and his collaborators describe the cultural framework that has worsened US-Iran relations.
A bright light on New York’s Bengali past
“In Search of Bengali Harlem,” a new film co-created by Professor Vivek Bald, salutes South Asians who carved out new lives in the US, against the odds.
Springing people from the poverty trap
Field experiment in Bangladesh shows the poor simply lack opportunities to gain wealth — but a one-time boost can make a major difference.
Study: Immigrants in the US are more likely to start firms, create jobs
Compared to native-born citizens, immigrants are more frequently involved in founding companies at all scales.
Why bother with subject-verb agreement?
This aspect of syntax helps us do much more than just build sentences, linguist Shigeru Miyagawa contends.
A stark warning about threats to truth, science, and democracy
In annual Compton Lecture, celebrated journalist Martin Baron outlines how a growing disregard for facts undermines civil society in the U.S.
An expanded commitment to Indigenous scholarship and community at MIT
New measures build on insights from a course on the Indigenous history of the Institute, now in its third semester.
What lies beneath
In a new book, an MIT scholar examines how game-theory logic underpins many of our seemingly odd and irrational decisions.