Economics

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.

The math gapMIT economists find a new reason to think that environment, not innate ability, determines how well girls do in math class

Data points of lightMIT’s undergraduates fight poverty one statistic at a time, thanks to coordination between the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab.

Charter schools, studiedMIT economists are trying to learn how and why some Boston charter schools were able to produce stunning results. What they discover could serve as a lesson for America’s struggling public schools.

All wired upMIT's Erik Brynjolfsson explains how technology really helps the economy — even as the restructuring it is spurring causes pain.

Two from MIT elected to the Institute of MedicineProfessor of Economics Amy Finkelstein and Tyler Jacks, director of the Koch Institute, join arm of the National Academies of Science.

MIT alum garners economics nobelOliver Williamson '55 a co-winner, for work on the theory of the firm

3 Questions: Robert Solow on the struggle aheadThe MIT Nobel laureate explains why we need more economic stimulus — and more innovation.

Stay focusedThe Computer Graphics Group sharpens photographs by capturing multiple low-quality images instead of a single higher-quality image.

3 Questions: AIDS researchers on new vaccine resultsPartial success of a new AIDS vaccine offers clues to help develop a stronger vaccine, say MIT’s Arup Chakraborty and MGH’s Bruce Walker.

Lab-grade economicsCan economists conduct studies with solid scientific foundations? Professor Joshua Angrist explains how to carry out 'natural experiments' with numbers.

Insurance against financial fearWhen the economy stumbles, panic can drive matters from bad to worse. Economist Ricardo Caballero has a new plan to keep investment markets free of fear

'Genius' grant for MIT economistEsther Duflo receives MacArthur Fellowship for transformative work on economic development; has brought field experiments to studies of poverty around the world

Avoiding carbon copiesCan free-market enterprise generate clean-energy breakthroughs? Economist Daron Acemoglu says it's unlikely — unless government and universities help.

Q&A with William Wheaton on the housing recoveryThe slow and painful recovery under way in the beleaguered U.S. housing market probably won't be complete for another two years, says Professor of Economics and Urban Studies William Wheaton, director of MIT's Center for Real Estate.

A watershed moment in economics and financeRecession, crisis spark new directions for scholarship