Economics

Michael Greenstone named director of The Hamilton ProjectMIT economist to head Washington-based policy group

‘Failure is good’In a talk to promote his new book, MIT’s Simon Johnson lambastes a finance industry he sees as lacking a healthy fear of losing money.

Paul Samuelson memorial to be held on April 10Event in Kresge Auditorium will celebrate the Nobel laureate’s life and legacy.

Paul Samuelson and Economics: Evolution of a ClassicNew memorial exhibit opens in Dewey Library

Explained: Regression analysisSure, it’s a ubiquitous tool of scientific research, but what exactly is a regression, and what is its use?

3 Questions: Hunt Allcott on behavioral economics and the energy crisisCan understanding human irrationality help solve our energy problems? An MIT researcher explains

Three from MIT win Soros Fellowships

Said and Done: Humanities, arts, and social sciences digest for March 2010

Banking on mobile moneyA cellphone-based cash transfer system has changed the way Kenyans handle their finances. But what does it mean for Kenya's economy — and the developing world?

A silver lining to the Copenhagen cloud?Though widely seen as a failure, December’s climate conference may actually have set the world on the right path, panelists suggest

Nobel laureate Krugman: ‘Dark age of macroeconomics’ is upon usIn Stata Center lecture, the Nobel Prize-winning former MIT professor warns that America is replaying its past economic policy mistakes.

Carl Kaysen, MIT professor emeritus and national security expert, dies at age 89As an adviser under President Kennedy, he helped negotiate a key nuclear test ban treaty.

Democracy put to the testMIT field experiment asks: What happens when people gain the ability to govern themselves?

Q&A with Simon JohnsonMIT’s outspoken bank critic on the state of the financial industry, the need for reform, and the performance of the White House

Said and Done: humanities, arts, and social sciences digest for January 2010

‘All or nothing’MIT experts on the future of health-care reform: Congress should still think big

Temporary gainsMIT economist finds temporary jobs may actually reduce workers’ income and employment prospects

The recession hits scienceMIT report reveals biotechnology funding troubles

3 Questions: Making unemployment workWith large numbers of Americans out of work, economist Ivan Werning suggests some better ways to make unemployment insurance operate

The Tough Get Growing: how to succeed in a down economyPresented by the MIT Enterprise Forum

Moderated by Bo Fishback

Panelists:
Eugene Fitzgerald '85
Daphne Zohar
Helen Greiner '89, SM '90

Creating a game plan for transition to a sustainable economyJeffrey Hollender enumerates the many reasons he’s feeling bleak these days.

Nobel-winning economist Paul A. Samuelson dies at age 94In a career that spanned seven decades, he transformed his field, influenced millions of students and turned MIT into an economics powerhouse

How to encourage big ideasA new study suggests certain types of funding — which provide more freedom and focus less on near-term results — lead to more innovative and influential research.

The real thing?MIT business professor Renee Richardson Gosline shows that people are often unsure about telling authentic luxury goods from fakes — until they see who’s using them.

Three MIT students are Rhodes ScholarsA record year for U.S. students at the Institute

Good food nationMIT researchers think America's obesity epidemic can be reversed via ‘foodsheds,’ in which healthier, more affordable food is produced and consumed regionally.

“Diagnosing” the U.S. health care system: in Soundings MagazineThe U.S. health system has been ranked second in the world in expenditures — and 38th in the world for performance. What's going on?

MIT rings NASDAQ's bell

3 Questions: Jeffrey Harris on why we still don't have an HIV vaccineThe MIT economist blames inadequate incentives for the failure to develop a vaccine against the virus that causes AIDS. He argues governments should help industry create an HIV vaccine by sharing risk.