A study co-authored by Prof. Daron Acemoglu finds that every new robot added to American factories reduced employment in the surrounding areas, reports Cora Lewis for CNBC. According to the study, the areas experiencing major decline were “routine manual occupations, blue-collar workers, operators and assembly workers, and machinists and transport workers.”
Prof. Adam Berinsky writes for The Washington Post about his research investigating how to counter political rumors. “Just as important as how a rumor is debunked is who does the debunking,” he writes. “Politicians who support good public policy by speaking against their partisan interests…are considered credible sources by citizens from across the ideological spectrum.”
A study by MIT researchers finds that robots have negatively impacted American employment and wages, reports Andrew Soergel for U.S. News & World Report. After accounting for enhancements in productivity and growth in other sectors, researchers found that “automation's rise isn't entirely a bad thing for the labor market,” explains Soergel.
In an article for The Washington Post, Prof. David Singer examines how an overhaul of the H-1B visa program could impact the American job market. Singer writes that “restricting visas for highly skilled foreign workers could prompt high-tech firms in the United States to shift operations overseas in search of skilled labor.”
In an article for The New York Times about why people believe false information, Amanda Taub and Brendan Nyhan highlight a study by Prof. Adam Berinsky that examines political myths. Berinsky found that “a surprising co-partisan source (a Republican member of Congress) was the most effective in reducing belief in the ‘death panel’ myth about the Affordable Care Act.”
Bloomberg View reporter Noah Smith spotlights the research of Prof. David Autor, who has been “pioneering ways to make the economics discipline both more credible and more relevant.” To mitigate the impacts of trade, Smith writes that Autor believes the “U.S. government should focus attention on manufacturing industries, and even use industrial policy to bolster the sector.”
A study by MIT and Harvard researchers provides evidence that a new executive order on immigration could reduce the number of doctors in portions of Appalachia and the Industrial Midwest, reports Sam Petulla for NBC News. "In these places, there are lots of incentives for American-trained doctors and foreign-trained doctors to move and work," explains graduate student Michael Stepner.
Boston Globe reporter Felice Freyer writes that a study by MIT and Harvard researchers examines how an executive order on immigration could impact the number of doctors in Appalachia and the Rust Belt. Doctors from the countries included in the order “handle about 14 million patient visits a year…often settling in areas where American doctors are reluctant to work.”
Boston Globe reporter Marc Hirsh writes about a performance of David Bowie’s final album “Blackstar” at Kresge Auditorium, conducted by Prof. Evan Ziporyn. Hirsch notes that the “orchestra’s approach took advantage of the rich, jazz-infused harmonic palette of ‘Blackstar.’”
Prof. Evan Ziporyn speaks with Jeremy Goodwin of WBUR’s The Artery about his orchestral arrangement of “Blackstar,” David Bowie’s final album. The key to this arrangement isn’t recreating the album, it’s about “finding the feel of each of the movements and finding how are you going to get that to function with live players in large forces,” Ziporyn explains.
MIT senior Lilly Chin, winner of the 2017 Jeopardy! College Championship, speaks to Paris Alston of WGBH about her experience on the competition. “I wasn’t expecting to get in, I just wanted to have some fun with it,” Chin says about initially trying out for the quiz show.
Quentin Palfrey, executive director of J-PAL North America, speaks with Devin Thorpe of Forbes about how J-PAL aims to reduce poverty through academic research. Palfrey explains that “by transforming government and building a movement for evidence-based policy, we can help lift millions in the United States out of poverty.”
Lilly Chin, a senior at MIT majoring in electrical engineering and computer science, won the 2017 Jeopardy! College Championship, reports Kenneth Singletary for The Boston Globe. Singletary notes that “for her efforts, Chin won $100,000 and a chance to play on the Tournament of Champions.”
Prof. Eran Egozy will debut NoteStream, an app that provides real-time information about performances, at an upcoming concert at MIT, writes The Boston Globe’s Zoë Madonna. “We want people who are listening to music, especially if they’re listening for the first time, to be able to appreciate more of it as they’re listening to it,” says Egozy.
New research by Prof. David Autor shows that the number of young married women has decreased during recent decades, reports Jenna Smialek for Bloomberg News. Autor found that “the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs to global trade may be at least partially to blame” for the decline.