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.”
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.”
In an article about how to rebuild failed states, The Economist highlights Prof. Daron Acemoglu’s book “Why Nations Fail.” Acemoglu and his co-author Prof. James Robinson of the University of Chicago argue that political institutions largely determine a nation’s success, and that failed states provide “a general explanation for why poor countries are poor.”
Washington Post reporter Carolyn Johnson writes that a study by Prof. Amy Finkelstein finds that expanding Medicaid access increases emergency room visits. “People who gained Medicaid visited the emergency room about 65 percent more often than individuals who did not gain Medicaid in the first six months -- and the trend continued out to two years.”
NPR’s Steve Inskeep notes that in a 2010 episode of “The Simpsons” Milhouse van Houten predicts that Prof. Bengt Holmström will win a Nobel Prize in economics. Inskeep jokes that Milhouse was a visionary, who “knew way before the rest of the world that MIT's Bengt Holmström had genius in him.”
Nobel laureate Prof. Bengt Holmström speaks with NPR’s Steve Inskeep about the importance of incentives. Holmström recounts becoming interested in incentives while working at a multinational conglomerate after realizing computers could not “replace a lot of what the human mind is thinking,” adding that incentives are how “you influence people’s behavior.”
In an article for The Boston Globe, Steve Annear notes that during an episode of “The Simpsons” Milhouse Van Houten predicts that MIT Prof. Bengt Holmström will win a Nobel prize in economics. Annear writes that “Milhouse’s prediction was spot on — but a few years too early. On Monday, Holmström finally earned his due.”
Charles Duxbury and Mike Bird write for The Wall Street Journal that Prof. Bengt Holmström is one of the recipients of the 2016 Nobel Prize in economics. Holmström was honored, in part, for developing a model that examines “how pay should be linked to performance and how an optimal contract carefully weighs risks against incentives.”
Prof. Bengt Holmström received the Nobel Prize in economics for his research on contract theory, writes Chris Giles for the Financial Times. Holmström, who said he was “dazed … very surprised and very happy” about winning the award, found “an optimal contract should link payments to outcomes that reveal the performance of either party to a contract.”
Lisa Mullins of WBUR’s All Things Considered speaks with Prof. Bengt Holmström about winning the Nobel Prize in economics for his work examining how contracts motivate and affect people’s behavior. Holmström explains, “incentives are not just about paying people, it is also about job design.”
Prof. Bengt Holmström and Harvard Prof. Oliver Hart were awarded the Noel Prize in economics for their work on how to design better contracts, Deirdre Fernandes and Hiawatha Bray report for The Boston Globe. “Bengt and Oliver’s research has not only helped us to better understand incentives and institutions, it has helped us design better ones,” explains Prof. James Poterba.
Jeff Guo writes for The Washington Post about Prof. Bengt Holmström, one of the recipients of this year’s Nobel Prize in economics. “It’s just such a richly deserved prize,” said Glenn Ellison, head of MIT’s economics department. “Bengt’s work is outstanding both for answering really important questions, and for how beautifully crafted it is mathematically.”
Associated Press reporter Karl Ritter writes that Prof. Bengt Holmström has been honored with the Nobel Prize in economics. ‘‘I certainly did not expect it, at least at this time, so I was very surprised and very happy, of course,’’ Holmström said.
Prof. Bengt Holmström won the Nobel Economics Prize for his work on contract theory, Daniel Dickson and Ross Kerber report for Reuters. "This theory has really been incredibly important, not just for economics, but also for other social sciences," said Prof. Per Stromberg, a member of the prize committee.
Grad student Michael Stepner speaks with Peter O’Dowd of Here & Now about his research examining how the life expectancy gap between the rich and poor has grown. Stepner explains the research suggests an opportunity for local “policies to address these gaps and improve life expectancies for low-income Americans.”