While much of global warming research focuses on the natural world — considering how climate change impacts ecosystems, agriculture, and biodiversity — a new wave of research studies how climate change will reshape the social and economic world. In this emergi... More »
The racial wealth gap in the United States is a legacy of nefarious actions and policies such as slavery, Jim Crow laws, and redlining. Based on data from the Survey of Consumer Finances in 2016, the median white family had a net worth of $188,200, nearly eigh... More »
The killing of George Floyd in the custody of the Minneapolis police triggered widespread and persistent protests across the United States. A key flash point among protesters has been economic inequality and racism. History supports their cause—for the last th... More »
How can we use education investments to reduce economic inequality and break intergenerational cycles of poverty? Research conducted by Rucker C. Johnson and Kirabo Jackson published in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy suggests that continuous ed... More »
Since 2014, more than half of all fish consumed by humans have been farmed rather than caught in the wild. Aquaculture — which includes the farming of not only fish, but also mollusks, shellfish, algae, seaweed and more — has grown exponentially for decades an... More »
When Amazon started looking for a home for its second headquarters (“HQ2”), cities across North America vied to be selected. They offered tax breaks and other incentives, seeking the prestige of a high-profile corporate headquarters and the promise of economic... More »
In 2017, foreign aid from official donors totaled over $146.6 billion. The bulk of this aid went to decentralizing or decentralized countries, in which regional or local governments are granted powers and resources. Localized governments are believed to be mor... More »
2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act—an important victory for activists in the Civil Rights era—but this historic legislation did not eradicate discrimination in the housing market. Evidence shows that real estate agents today still steer bu... More »
In the November issue of the Journal of Urban Economics, Peter Ganong of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and Daniel Shoag of the Harvard Kennedy School investigate a troubling question: “Why has regional income convergence in the U.S. declined?“In eco... More »
The uneven distribution of globalization-driven economic growth has led researchers to question whether growth actually decreases poverty and inequality. They have tried to answer questions such as: Does growth affect poverty at all? Is growth sufficient to re... More »
Income segregation in neighborhoods in the United States has increased over the past few decades, but certain demographic groups have experienced a sharper rise than others. Only two-thirds of households in the United States are families, defined as two or mor... More »
A study shows the ways in which demographic changes regarding marriage, divorce, and cohabitation in the past 50 years have fostered family inequality across socioeconomic groups, causing negative impacts for children. More »