Economics

How Medicaid affects adult healthStudy: Health insurance helps lower-income Americans avoid depression, diabetes, major financial shocks.

Commerce’s call to actionIn MIT talk, head of U.S. Chamber of Commerce outlines business-oriented policy agenda.

Deep in the fieldBook details how economist Robert Townsend has spent two decades in rural Thailand, exploring the links between household finances and economic growth.

Making sense of big dataPhD student Jameson Toole wants to harness data to improve human lives.

Helping students master dataAn undergraduate econometrics class gets students to think critically about their own research.

Esther Duflo selected as a 2013 Dan David Prize laureateHonored for research to alleviate poverty through disease prevention

Q&A: U.S. immigration policy and entrepreneurshipMIT’s Bill Aulet, Danielle Guichard-Ashbrook and Edward Roberts discuss the challenges facing foreign-born entrepreneurs under U.S. immigration policy.

New insight into how people choose insurance plansStudy: Consumers avoid high-deductible plans if they expect to reduce their use of medical care.

MIT report identifies keys to new American innovationFrom ‘Main Street’ firms to multinationals, improvements possible in funding of research, collaboration among manufacturers.

What’s the cost and financial value of college?At MIT, experts say evidence shows the payoff from college education remains high.

Duflo, Lander, Lewin to lead spring-semester MITx coursesEdX takes stock of last semester’s MITx courses; data will be used to improve education online and in the classroom.

Why some immigrants get citizenshipStudy: Country of origin a 'massive disadvantage' for some immigrants, regardless of qualifications.

Hard times in ChicagoMIT anthropologist’s new book recounts the painful aftermath when steel plants suddenly closed in the American heartland.

The high value of waterStudy: People willing to pay more for running water report much higher levels of happiness when they have it.

The natural experimenter

President Obama announces intent to appoint Esther Duflo to Global Development CouncilMIT development economist nominated for presidential policy council.

The health-insurance markets of the (very near) futurePolicymakers must address ‘tension’ between competition and ease of use.

Study: At most a third of us show a consistent approach to financial riskEmpirically rich new study finds most people alter their risk-management approach depending on the type of financial decision.

Said and Done for November/December 2012Digest of humanities, arts and social sciences

From the water to WashingtonMIT senior Noam Angrist works to reform education and health care through youth mentorship and economics.

Three awards for MIT research in anthropology, economics and political scienceMikusheva receives Elaine Bennett Research Prize; Petersen wins Distinguished Book Award; Helmreich wins Rachel Carson Prize.

How Jonathan Gruber became ‘Mr. Mandate’An MIT economist’s path to the center of health-care policymaking in Washington.

Said and Done for September 2012Digest of MIT humanities, arts, and social sciences.

The economic cost of increased temperaturesStudy: Warming episodes hurt poor countries and limit long-term growth.

Study: Many Americans die with ‘virtually no financial assets’Innovative research shows large divergence in retirement saving outcomes, with the single elderly faring worse than married couples.

Why cutting-edge medical technology may not lead to exploding health care costsNew study finds growth of advanced imaging slowed amid financial, medical concerns.

Five MIT researchers win presidential early career honorsJarillo-Herrero, Lu, Pathak, Sinha and Thaler among 96 winners.