Temporary gains
MIT economist finds temporary jobs may actually reduce workers’ income and employment prospects
Search Stories
3 Questions: Lawrence Vale on rebuilding Haiti
An MIT urban design expert explains why devastated cities are nearly always rebuilt — but why Haiti faces special challenges to reconstruction.
3 Questions: Making unemployment work
With large numbers of Americans out of work, economist Ivan Werning suggests some better ways to make unemployment insurance operate
Poverty's researcher
MacArthur Foundation "genius" Esther Duflo, PhD '99, field-tests aid programs to find out which ones work-and why.
Not easy being green
MIT historian Harriet Ritvo explains how a battle to save an English lake helped found modern environmentalism — but might worry greens today
Their infinite wisdom
An MIT historian of science uncovers the saga of the Russian scholars whose mysticism helped them redefine the concept of infinity
Reporter’s Notebook: Jules Verne, desperado?
MIT historian of science Rosalind Williams on the overlooked legacy of Jules Verne, anti-globalization visionary
How to encourage big ideas
A new study suggests certain types of funding — which provide more freedom and focus less on near-term results — lead to more innovative and influential research.
The real thing?
MIT business professor Renee Richardson Gosline shows that people are often unsure about telling authentic luxury goods from fakes — until they see who’s using them.
Reporter’s Notebook: Game Theory
At the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, researchers examine what makes video games click with players — or what doesn't.
Three of a kind
MIT linguist Shigeru Miyagawa explains how the hidden similarities of English, Japanese, and some forms of Bantu reveal language’s universal essence.
Good food nation
MIT researchers think America's obesity epidemic can be reversed via ‘foodsheds,’ in which healthier, more affordable food is produced and consumed regionally.
The math gap
MIT economists find a new reason to think that environment, not innate ability, determines how well girls do in math class