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Nobel winner advances understanding of women and the labor market

Oct 9, 2023
Harvard economist Claudia Goldin has illuminated issues such as the gender gap in pay, child and elder care, and the shortfall in women economists.
Some of Claudia Goldin’s more recent research found that the pandemic has had a greater impact on women than men when it comes to employment and labor participation.
Lauren Owens Lambert/AFP via Getty Images)

Do you find the economy confusing? So do professional economists

Jul 18, 2023
"We don't quite know what we're doing these days," said one economist.
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The global economy proves stronger than expected, which is good news for the U.S.

Feb 6, 2023
Europe's having a pretty good winter, and other parts of the world aren't doing too badly, either.
The global economy slowed markedly in 2022, and it's expected to weaken further this year. But some patches of the globe are performing better than expected.
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Business economists seem a little more optimistic, survey finds

Jan 23, 2023
A majority still think the country is headed for a recession. But the majority's shrinking.
A little more than half of economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics expect a recession, down from about two-thirds in October.
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5 years later, economics faces another #MeToo moment

Dec 15, 2022
Despite being part of a field that studies inequality, women in economics are taking to Twitter to share stories of continued mistreatment.
Janet Yellen, the current U.S. secretary of the treasury, was president of the American Economic Association in 2020 and advocated for gender parity in the profession.
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The economy is acting weird. Not even economists can fully say why.

Sep 30, 2022
There are many contradictory economic trends these days, and history isn't providing its usual hints about what will happen next.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Department of Education appoints its first chief economist

Jun 15, 2022
The agency said it’s part of bringing a more data-based approach to policymaking.
The Department of Education recently announced that Jordan Matsudaira will be the first chief economist in its 43-year history.
Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

How shareholders jumped to first in line for profits

Apr 25, 2022
A business theory helped put profits for shareholders ahead of other corporate interests.
Milton Friedman, one of the most influential economists of the 20th century.
PBS

Does the torrent of government data make economists better at predictions?

Feb 23, 2022
FRED, a popular government website, started tracking 30 kinds of data in 1991. Now it tracks 800,000.
The 800,000 types of data that FRED tracks are basically irresistible to economists.
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When economic predictions are wrong

Jul 22, 2021
When we tell you about economic news, we’re always saying things like "numbers were higher (or lower) than expected." How much, then, should we consider economists’ expectations?
A once-in-a-lifetime pandemic has thrown a wrench in economic forecasting, economists say.
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