Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson speaks with Greg Rosalsky of NPR’s Planet Money about a new study that finds about half of the American workforce is now working remotely. Brynjolffson says he feels, "this portends a much bigger shift in the economy.”
Writing for the New York Times, Prof. Yasheng Huang argues that Chinese policies favoring the state sector over the private sector have played a bigger role in the country’s economic slowdown than the current trade war. “That the Chinese economy is slowing down isn’t necessarily a bad thing, at least not in itself,” says Huang. “But a slowdown is a problem if it’s the result of poor policy.”
Writing for the New York Times, Prof. Yasheng Huang argues that Chinese policies favoring the state sector over the private sector have played a bigger role in the country’s economic slowdown than the current trade war. “That the Chinese economy is slowing down isn’t necessarily a bad thing, at least not in itself,” says Huang. “But a slowdown is a problem if it’s the result of poor policy.”
A new paper from Prof. Kristin J. Forbes finds that the increased impact of globalization on the rate of inflation will affect everything from government policy to stock market returns. “The study's findings also suggest that central banks may be losing their power to direct the economy,” reports Dion Rabouin for Axios.
Writing for the Financial Times, graduate student Daniel Aronoff examines the impact of the FedNow banking service, which aims to process and settle individual payments within seconds. FedNow will have a “revolutionary impact on the banking industry and monetary policy,” writes Aronoff. “When depositors are able to move funds costlessly and instantaneously between accounts, it will become feasible to arbitrage between banks in real time.”
Verge reporter Justine Calma writes that states in the Midwest and Great Lakes region could see $4.7 billion in health benefits by maintaining current renewable energy standards. “This research shows that renewables pay for themselves through health benefits alone,” explains Emil Dimanchev, senior research associate at MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.
A new study by MIT researchers examining the impact of energy policies that reduce fine particulates in the air finds that there are “substantial health benefits in Rust Belt states when utilities are required to supply escalating amounts of renewable power,” reports Ben Geman for Axios.
A new paper by MIT researchers finds that instead of raising prices, companies are replying on “shrinkflation - reducing the size of products or their quality while charging the same price,” reports Dion Rabouin for Axios.
Prof. David Autor speaks with The Economist podcast “Money Talks” about how computers changed the US labor market, the impact of the rise of China and his own experience as an economist. “You have to take your results and accept them and sort of try to understand them,” said Autor. “You can’t simply reject them because they’re not consistent with what your expectations were.”
In an article for Fortune, Senior Lecturer Robert Pozen argues that the Federal Reserve should not lower interest rates. “When the U.S. economy falls into the next recession, as it inevitably must, the Federal Reserve needs to respond by sharply lowering interest rates,” writes Pozen. “However, U.S. interest rates are now so low that the Fed has little dry powder in its arsenal.”
A new MIT study shows that “China’s move away from fossil fuels would mean 2,000 fewer premature deaths in the U.S. by 2030,” reports John Fialka for E&E News. "It reminds us that air pollution doesn't stop at national boundaries," said Prof. Valerie Karplus, a co-leader of the paper.
Writing for STAT, Prof. Jonathan Gruber examines his research showing that while doctors have more information about different tests and treatments, they make decisions similar to their patients when receiving care. Gruber says this finding suggests that to improve health care decision-making, financial incentives and other approaches are needed that go beyond providing patients with more information.
Writing for Fortune about the impacts of automation on the labor market, Geoff Colvin highlights Prof. Daron Acemoglu’s research analyzing the historical effects of technology on workers. Colvin explains that Acemoglu and his colleagues found that, “for the first time in modern history, automation isn’t necessarily good for workers overall.”
Speaking with Greg Rosalsky of NPR’s Planet Money, Prof. David Autor delves into his new research showing that large American cities no longer provide the same opportunities for upward mobility for people without college degrees. “The set of jobs that people without college degrees do has really contracted,” explains Autor, co-director of the MIT Work of the Future task force.
Prof. Jonathan Gruber speaks with WGBH’s Arjun Singh about the negative economic consequences of restricting access to abortion. “What is clear from the economic evidence is that if abortion access is restricted, it’s going to hurt women’s prospects in the labor market,” says Gruber.