Professor Otto Scharmer writes for The Guardian about potential ways to modernize the 21st century economic system to more effectively create well being for everyone. “The most important driving force lies in our outdated paradigms of economic thought, which continue to represent a blind spot to measuring wellbeing,” writes Scharmer.
Margot Sanger-Katz cites research by Professor Jonathan Gruber in this New York Times article on rising health insurance premiums. Gruber’s findings indicate that prior to the Affordable Care Act, premiums rose at higher average rates for individuals than they have since the legislation went into effect
Irving Wladawsky-Berger writes about research by Professor David Autor on the impact of technology on the workforce presented at this year’s Jackson Hole Federal Reserve Symposium. Autor argues that artificial intelligence still struggles to perform tasks that require flexibility, judgment and common sense.
Shawn Donnan of the Financial Times writes about a new MIT study examining gossip. Prof. Abhijit Banerjee explains that the study shows, “your sense of who is the office gossip is generally very good and that if you want to spread information you should do it by that person.”
In a piece for The New York Times about poverty in America, Thomas B. Edsall highlights Professor David Autor’s work examining unemployment rates of American men. Autor and graduate student Melanie Wasserman found that for boys, “growing up in a single-parent home appears to significantly decrease the probability of college attendance.”
In a piece for Finance & Development, the International Monetary Fund’s quarterly magazine, Carmen Rollins highlights 25 economists influencing the global economy. The list includes five MIT faculty members: Esther Duflo, Amy Finkelstein, Kristin Forbes, Parag Pathak and Iván Werning.
Slate reporter Jordan Weissman writes about Professor David Autor’s new paper, presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas’s City’s Economic Symposium. In the paper, Autor argues that robots and computers will not replace humans in the labor market as they lack the ability to reason like the human brain.
New York Times reporter Neil Irwin writes about Professor David Autor’s new paper, which asserts that robots will not replace humans in the labor market. “Many of the middle-skill jobs that persist in the future will combine routine technical tasks with the set of non-routine tasks in which workers hold comparative advantage,” Autor explains.
Reuters reports on Professor David Autor’s new paper on how automation and computers are impacting the labor market. "I expect that a significant stratum of middle skill, non-college jobs combining specific vocational skills with foundational middle skills - literacy, numeracy, adaptability, problem-solving and common sense - will persist in coming decades," Autor explains.
Bloomberg News reports on Professor David Autor’s presentation on the U.S. labor market at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, where he presented research demonstrating that robots are not replacing as many human workers as some fear. “Challenges to substituting machines for workers in tasks requiring flexibility, judgment, and common sense remain immense,” Autor explains.
“Nancy L. Rose PhD ‘85, a professor of applied economics at MIT, has been named Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economic Analysis by the U.S. Department of Justice,” writes Katherine Nazemi for The Tech. Rose will head the DOJ’s anti-trust division.
In a piece for The Huffington Post about the problems associated with defining a poverty threshold, Murtaza Haider, an associate professor of management at Ryerson University, highlights Prof. Abhijit Banerjee and Prof. Esther Duflo’s book Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty.
“Labor economist Paul Osterman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found in a recent study he conducted that manufacturers' spending on training has essentially been flat for the last five years,” writes Lauren Weber for The Wall Street Journal.
Wall Street Journal reporter Jason Douglas writes that Prof. Kristin Forbes, who was recently appointed to the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, "highlighted a risk to economic recovery that is preoccupying central bankers on both sides of the Atlantic: Investors appear too sanguine about risk."
Professor Simon Johnson writes for The Financial Times about the potential danger posed to the economy during crises by clearing houses. Johnson argues that clearing houses should be subject to greater regulation and should ensure they have sufficient capital on hand to cover losses.