Category: Finance

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching. Title of course: “Economic Realities of the American Dream” What prompted the idea for the course? One of us – Steve Fazzari – was trained as an economist, and the other – Mark Rank – as a sociologist. We’ve shared […]

Cities tackle a vast array of responsibilities – from building transit networks to running schools – and sometimes they can use a little help. That’s why local governments have long teamed up with businesses in so-called public-private partnerships. Historically, these arrangements have helped cities fund big infrastructure projects such as bridges and hospitals. However, our […]

In 2018, L.L. Bean ended its century-old “lifetime” return policy, limiting returns to one year after purchase and requiring receipts. The demise of this popular policy sparked backlash, with several customers filing lawsuits. It also inspired my team of operations management researchers to study how customers respond when retailers make their return policies more strict. […]

Late in December 2023, the former top editor of The New York Times’ editorial page, James Bennet, dropped a bombshell in an article for The Economist. “The leadership of the New York Times is losing control of its principles,” he wrote, saying slanted coverage at the institution is “pervasive.” In the article, Bennet talked about […]

Strong enforcement of insider trading laws doesn’t just protect investors – it encourages businesses to be more innovative, according to our new peer-reviewed research. In fact, we found that after a company is hit with an insider-trading indictment, it generally produces more patents – which in turn are cited more by other patents – than […]

Imagine this: Two days before your family holiday party, you get a text about an online order you placed a week ago, saying the package is at your door. It comes with a photo – of someone else’s door. When you click the attached link, it takes you to the online store, where you enter […]

Wegovy and Ozempic are weight loss drugs that promise to transform the treatment of obesity, heart disease and other chronic conditions that afflict millions of Americans. But while everyone agrees these drugs have the potential to transform lives, no one can agree on how best to pay for them. Wegovy sells for a list price […]

In 2024, cryptocurrency theft reached alarming levels, with over $2.2 billion (A$3.5 billion) worth of digital assets stolen—a 21% increase compared to the previous year. This marks the fourth consecutive year that thefts of more than $1 billion have been reported, according to a Chainalysis report. The total number of individual hacking incidents also rose, […]

Brian Blank is a finance scholar and Fed watcher who researches how companies navigate downturns and make financial decisions, as well as how markets process information. Brandy Hadley is a finance professor who leads a student-managed investment fund and studies corporate decision-making and incentives. Together, they’re also the resident economic oracles at The Conversation U.S., […]

As has become customary, I am going to repeat a theme that I write about every year: how we should use Hanukkah to teach children about responsible money habits. Rabbi YY Jacobson tells the following joke: “One autumn the Indians in a remote reservation asked their new Chief if the winter was going to be […]