Economics News

October 21, 2024

Top Headlines

New Research Reveals How Large-Scale Adoption of Electric Vehicles Can Improve Air Quality and Human Health

Oct. 15, 2024 — A new study suggests that large-scale adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) could lead to significant population-level health benefits. The research team used computer simulations to show that ...

Transition to a Circular Bioeconomy Requires Getting Prices Right

Oct. 8, 2024 — A circular bioeconomy that reduces and recycles waste, transitions away from fossil fuels to renewable bio-based alternatives, and regenerates natural systems is critical for feeding and fueling the world's growing population in environmentally ...

Green Subsidies May Have Hidden Costs, Experts Warn

Oct. 3, 2024 — Government subsidies for business practices and processes should be approached with caution, even when they seem to be environmentally friendly, writes a group of scientists and economists. They argue that subsidies can alter market pressures, ...

Hurricanes Linked to Higher Death Rates for 15 Years After Storms Pass

Oct. 2, 2024 — U.S. tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, indirectly cause thousands of deaths for nearly 15 years after a storm. Researchers estimate an average U.S. tropical cyclone indirectly causes 7,000 to 11,000 excess deaths. All told, they estimate ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:31pm EDT

Smaller Vial Size for Alzheimer's Drug Could Save Medicare Hundreds of Millions Per Year

Oct. 14, 2024 — Medicare could save up to 74% of the money lost from discarded Alzheimer's drug lecanemab by the simple introduction of a new vial size that would ...

Getting to Zero Emissions: A Call for Unified Energy Planning

Sep. 30, 2024 — To help speed decarbonization, state regulators should reconceive of gas and electric utilities as serving the same purpose, according to a new report. Without coordinated action, the energy ...

Honey, I Shrunk the City: What Should Declining Japanese Cities Do?

Sep. 30, 2024 — A researcher examined the nonlinear multidimensional factors that correlate with population changes according to city size. The results indicate that population changes correlated with the financial ...

Vast 'Stranded Assets' If World Continues Investing in Polluting Industries

Sep. 30, 2024 — Continued investment in carbon-intensive industries will drastically increase the amount of 'stranded assets' as the world moves to net-zero emissions, researchers ...

How Social Structure Influences the Way People Share Money

Sep. 26, 2024 — A study of informal finance finds that in East Africa, money moves in very different patterns depending on whether societies are structured around family units or age-based ...

Global Warming's Economic Blow: Risks Rise More Rapidly for the Rich

Sep. 13, 2024 — Researchers analyzed how erratic weather events, increasingly intensified by global warming, affect global production and consumption across different income ...

Path to Prosperity for Planet and People Shrinking Rapidly, Scientists Warn

Sep. 12, 2024 — Our planet will only remain able to provide even the most basic standard of living for everyone in the future if economic systems and technologies are dramatically transformed and critical resources ...

Path to Prosperity for Planet and People If Earth's Critical Resources Are Better Shared

Sep. 11, 2024 — Earth will only remain able to provide even a basic standard of living for everyone in the future if economic systems and technologies are ...

Study Finds Limits to Storing CO2 Underground to Combat Climate Change

Aug. 28, 2024 — New research has found limits to how quickly we can scale up technology to store gigatons of carbon dioxide under the Earth's ...

Researchers Develop Index to Quantify Circular Bioeconomy

Aug. 19, 2024 — As the world faces the challenges of mitigating climate change and providing resources for a growing population, there is increasing focus on developing circular economies for sustainable production. ...

Despite Progress, China Remains Tethered to Coal as Climate Change Pressures Mount

Oct. 8, 2024 — A new paper details how China faces numerous political, economic and technological obstacles as it tries to transition away from coal while balancing the need to combat climate change with the need ...

Lack of Food -- Not Money -- Drives Poaching in East African National Parks, Study Finds

Sep. 25, 2024 — Researchers conducted a survey of 267 households near Mkomazi National Park in northern Tanzania and found that food security was much more important than financial or educational security in ...

Growing Divide: Rural Men Are Living Shorter, Less Healthy Lives Than Their Urban Counterparts

Sep. 25, 2024 — With an aging population and fewer physicians available, the burden on rural communities is set to ...

Outbreak Detection Under-Resourced in Asia, Study Finds

Sep. 24, 2024 — A new study has revealed that despite the recent pandemic, outbreak detection efforts remain under-resourced in South and Southeast Asia, with only about half the countries reviewed having integrated ...

Demand-Side Actions Could Help Construction Sector Deliver on Net-Zero Targets

Sep. 20, 2024 — Researchers used a detailed mathematical model to demonstrate that the construction sector in the UK and Europe could almost eliminate its carbon emissions by 2060. This could be achieved through ...

Soil Footprint: A Simple Indicator of a Crop's Impact on Soil Erosion

Sep. 17, 2024 — A research team proposes a method to calculate, compare and communicate how different crops affect the loss of agricultural soil, with the aim of raising awareness of this problem and promoting ...

People Aren't Volunteering as Much These Days: What Gives?

Sep. 17, 2024 — Volunteering used to be a mainstay of U.S. culture. But in recent years, giving back to their community hasn't played as big a role in many Americans' lives. New research suggests the ...

Air Pollution Exposure in Infancy May Limit Economic Mobility in Adulthood

Sep. 9, 2024 — Higher exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) during infancy was associated with lower economic earnings in adulthood, according to a new study. The association was most pronounced in the ...

Explaining the Mechanism of Social Evolution Driven by Gift Giving

Sep. 3, 2024 — New findings provide quantitative criteria for classifying social organizations in human history, together with potential explanatory variables that can be empirically measured for anthropology, ...

COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates Boosted Uptake Among Health Care Workers, Study Finds

Sep. 3, 2024 — A new study has found that state-level COVID-19 vaccination mandates successfully increased vaccine rates among health care workers, a finding that, while perhaps unsurprising, provides evidence of ...

Geographic Differences in U.S. Homicide Rates Have Decreased Since the 1970s

Aug. 28, 2024 — A new study finds that, counter to expectations, geographic disparities in rates of homicides in the US have decreased in recent ...

Lackluster Prioritization of the Health Sector in Government Spending and Dwindling Donor Contributions Drive Slow Growth in Health Spending in Sub-Saharan Africa

Aug. 28, 2024 — Slow growth in health sector spending is projected in Sub-Saharan Africa as reported in a study. The decline is expected to continue to 2050, according to the authors, and is driven by tepid growth ...

Women in Global Fisheries Industry Fall Through the Safety Net

Aug. 27, 2024 — Millions of women who work in the fisheries industry are being left behind as technologies develop to counter the effects of climate change and economic pressures. A new study examines this global ...

Sick Days: Assessing the Economic Costs of Long COVID

Aug. 15, 2024 — A new study finds that the effects of long COVID have caused many Americans to miss extensive work time, and that 14% of study participants reported not returning to work in the months after their ...

U.S. Capable of Achieving Seafood Independence

Aug. 15, 2024 — If the U.S. became seafood independent, or meet its entire seafood needs through its own production, it could offer opportunities for improving dietary outcomes as well as individual and national ...

Larger Teams in Academic Research Worsen Career Prospects, Study Finds

Aug. 14, 2024 — Researchers reveal that individuals who finish their PhD in situations where the average team in their field is larger have worse academic career ...

New Interpretation of Runic Inscription Reveals Pricing in Viking Age

Aug. 13, 2024 — A new interpretation of the runic inscription on the Forsa Ring (Forsaringen in Swedish), provides fresh insights into the Viking Age monetary system and represents the oldest documented value record ...

Does Physical Isolation Increase Loneliness?

Aug. 9, 2024 — A new study using data from COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia suggests that physical isolation does not lead to an increase in feelings of ...

When Is Too Much Knowledge a Bad Thing?

Aug. 7, 2024 — A new study finds an increase in knowledge could be a bad thing when people use it to act in their own self-interest rather than in the best interests of the larger ...

A New Way of Thinking About the Economy Could Help Protect the Amazon, and Help Its People Thrive

Aug. 6, 2024 — To protect the Amazon and support the wellbeing of its people, its economy needs to shift from environmentally harmful production to a model built around the diversity of indigenous and rural ...