The Myth of the Poverty Trap
In 1981, an estimated 44 percent of the global population lived in extreme poverty. In 2019, that number shrank to just 9 percent. We often think of poverty as a trap, but recent research shows it doe...
13 Touko 202554min
The Problem of Finding a Marriageable Man
Women now outnumber men on U.S. college campuses. There’s a common belief that the college gender gap has led to a decrease in marriage rates for college-educated women, but the economist Benny Goldma...
29 Huhti 202548min
Minority Rule in America
The Framers of the U.S. Constitution designed a government that they hoped would be impervious to tyranny of the majority. What they didn’t spend much time worrying about was the reverse: a tyranny of...
22 Huhti 202553min
Can We Stop Kids From Watching Porn?
States are cracking down on online porn—but is it working? The researcher Zeve Sanderson explains how age-verification laws backfire, why teens outsmart them, and what that means for the future of int...
15 Huhti 202550min
Did Busing Turn Kids Into Democrats?
In the summer of 1975, white schoolchildren at some Louisville, Kentucky, public schools were faced with a choice: stay in the school system and undergo busing to integrate the schools, or leave the s...
8 Huhti 202553min
In Search of 100-Year-Old Paper Trails
Researchers have suggested that lifestyle choices explain the remarkably high number of very old people living healthy lives in regions of the world known as “blue zones.” That research has spawned co...
1 Huhti 202550min
Politicians Think Voters Are Dumb. Are They Right?
What do politicians really think of their voters? A new study looking at 11 different democracies finds that politicians hold an unflattering view of their constituents, while voters view themselves a...
25 Maalis 202559min
