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Seth Mnookin, professor of writing in MIT’s Comparative Media Studies program and author of “The Panic Virus.”

Q&A: Seth Mnookin on Covid-19 and the public understanding of science

MIT professor and writer examines the large-scale reaction to our new public health crisis.

April 21, 2020

MIT literature professor and classicist Stephanie Frampton has become a leading global expert on the interplay between physical forms of writing and the generation of literature and learning in ancient times.

Taking a new look at ancient books

Classicist Stephanie Frampton traverses disciplines to study how the content and form of writing interacted in the ancient world.

April 19, 2020

MIT professor David Rand is a one-time punk rock guitarist whose academic research digs into psychology, cooperation, and politics. “To me, the essence of punk rock is saying, ‘Let me think about this for myself,’” Rand says. “Let me not be bound by social norms and conventions. … That’s what I try to do in my research. It’s the punk-rock approach to social science.”

Playing a new tune

Meet Professor David Rand, a one-time punk rock guitarist who now digs into psychology, cooperation, and politics.

April 11, 2020

A new study co-authored by Emil Verner, an assistant professor at The MIT Sloan School of Management, shows that in the 1918 flu pandemic, cities that had more aggressive interventions including social distancing also experienced stronger economic recoveries afterward.

The data speak: Stronger pandemic response yields better economic recovery

Study of 1918 flu pandemic shows U.S. cities that responded more aggressively in health terms also had better economic rebounds.

March 31, 2020

Jonathan Parker PhD ’96, the Robert C. Merton (1970) Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management, is a leading expert in understanding how U.S. citizens use stimulus payments from the government, and how big an impact such efforts make on the national economy.

3 Questions: Jonathan Parker on building an economic recovery

MIT professor evaluates the effect of government stimulus on the crisis-hit U.S. economy.

March 30, 2020

“Most manufacturing companies will keep about two weeks of inventory,” says David Simchi-Levi, who is a professor of engineering systems in the School of Engineering and in the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society within the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing. "That means they were able to cover demand for the first two weeks of March. After that, [given] no more supplies, ther...

Supply chain outlook: The timing of the slowdown

MIT Professor David Simchi-Levi forecast the mid-March manufacturing pause. Now he looks ahead.

March 25, 2020

“People are worried about the food supply chain,” says MIT supply chain expert Yossi Sheffi, who is the Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems at MIT, a professor in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics. “However, the U.S. food supply chain is very robust.”

Supply chain outlook: Why the situation varies by industry

MIT Professor Yossi Sheffi describes the supply chain landscape in the U.S., from food security to concerns about medical supplies.

March 25, 2020

Pierre Azoulay, the International Programs Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, is co-author of a newly-published paper finding that the average age of the most successful start-up founders is 45 — much higher than popular imagery often suggests.

A business edge that comes with age

Economist Pierre Azoulay answers three questions about his finding that middle-aged entrepreneurs fare better than twentysomethings.

March 19, 2020

“For decades, health economists have been searching to find the holy grail of a natural experiment to tell us what would happen if people couldn’t sue for malpractice,” says economist and MIT professor Jonathan Gruber.

Moving beyond “defensive medicine”

Study shows removing liability concerns slightly increases C-section procedures during childbirth.

March 11, 2020

A study co-authored by MIT economists links the fall in the percentage of gross domestic product going to workers to the gain in market share of large companies that spend more on capital and less on workers.

Why are workers getting smaller pieces of the pie?

Market concentration in the form of “superstar” firms has been lowering labor’s share of GDP in recent decades, a new study finds.

March 10, 2020

David Singer, an MIT professor and head of the Department of Political Science, is the co-author of a new book, “Banks on the Brink: Global Capital, Securities Markets, and the Political Roots of Financial Crises,” published by Cambridge University Press.

Why do banking crises occur?

In a new book, political scientist David Singer finds two key factors connected to financial-sector collapses around the globe.

March 10, 2020

Catherine D’Ignazio is the co-author of a new book, “Data Feminism,” published by MIT Press in March 2020.

The elephant in the server room

Catherine D’Ignazio’s new book, “Data Feminism,” examines problems of bias and power that beset modern information.

March 9, 2020

Sasha Costanza-Chock, the Mitsui Career Development Associate Professor in MIT’s Comparative Media Studies/Writing program, is author of a new book, “Design Justice: Community Led Practices to Build the Worlds We Need,” published by the MIT Press.

Design, power, and justice

In new book “Design Justice,” Associate Professor Sasha Costanza-Chock examines how to make technology work for more people in society.

March 3, 2020

A new study examines 140,000 economics papers published from 1970 to 2015, tallying the “extramural” citations that economics papers received in 16 other academic fields, including sociology, medicine, and public health.

The case for economics — by the numbers

A multidecade study shows economics increasingly overlaps with other disciplines, and has become more empirical in nature.

March 3, 2020

A new study co-authored by MIT Professor David Rand shows that labeling some news stories as false makes all other news stories seem more legitimate online.

The catch to putting warning labels on fake news

Study finds disclaimers on some false news stories make people more readily believe other false stories.

March 2, 2020

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