The Economist highlights new work by MIT researchers investigating the impact of automation on the labor market. A study by graduate student Joonas Tuhkuri finds that at Finnish firms “adoption of advanced technologies led to increases in hiring.” Meanwhile a new book by Profs. David Autor, David Mindell and Elisabeth Reynolds concludes that “even if robots do not create widespread joblessness, they may have helped create an environment where the rewards are ‘skewed towards the top.’”
Writing for the Financial Times, Prof. Kristin Forbes emphasizes the importance of central banks reducing their balance sheets during economic recoveries. “Now is an opportune moment to use their balance sheets to fight inflation while supporting a balanced and sustainable recovery,” writes Forbes.
Forbes has named Raya Ani ’94, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala MCP PhD ’81, ’78, and former postdoc Shulamit Levenberg to their 50 Over 50 list, which highlights women from Europe, the Middle East and Asia who are leading the way, reports Maggie McGrath for Forbes. “Women around the world are proving that 50 and beyond is the new golden age,” writes McGrath.
Fast Company reporter Clint Rainey writes that a new study co-authored by MIT economists finds that the bulk of the loan money handed out through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) helped business owners and shareholders. The researchers estimate that “somewhere between 23% and 34% of PPP dollars went to workers who would’ve otherwise lost their jobs,” writes Rainey. “The rest of the loan money—a full two-thirds to three-fourths—landed in the pockets of either the company’s owners or shareholders.”
Forbes reporter Christ Westfall spotlights “The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines,” a new book by Prof. David Autor, Prof. David Mindell and Research Scientist Elizabeth Reynolds that explores the future of work in America. “The US has allowed traditional channels of worker voice to atrophy without fostering new institutions or buttressing existing ones,” they write. “It has permitted the federal minimum wage to recede to near irrelevance.”
New York Times reporter Steve Lohr spotlights Institute Prof. Daron Acemoglu’s research showing that “excessive automation” has contributed to rising inequality. “We need to redirect technology so it works for people,” says Acemoglu, “not against them.”
Pierre-Oliver Gourinchas PhD ’96 has been appointed chief economist by the International Monetary Fund, reports Ana Monetiro for Bloomberg. “The economist, a French national who is also program director of international finance and macroeconomics at the National Bureau of Economics Research, was an IMF visiting scholar and the editor-in-chief of the IMF Economic Review from 2009-2016,” writes Monetiro.
MIT was named one of the top ten institutions for economics research in the Higher Education Research and Development Survey released by the National Science Foundation, reports Michael Nietzel for Forbes.
GBH’s Basic Black host Callie Crossley speaks with Lecturer Malia Lazu,about how issues surrounding Covid-19, voting rights, economic downturn, police brutality, education, climate change and politics will impact communities of color in the coming year. “What I see is a democracy fighting itself,” says Lazu. "People in power, republicans or democrats, being bought into the idea of democracy more than the people in the democracy.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Mark Hulbert writes that a new study by MIT researchers finds that most investors “can do much better than the one-size-fits-all approach to equity allocations that target-date funds offer for your retirement portfolio.”
A new study by MIT economists finds that a one-time economic boost can help improve a person’s income, mental health and productivity even a decade later, reports Kristin Toussaint for Fast Company. “There is one very common concern, that somehow they will become lazy as a result of getting this opportunity; and if anything, we find the opposite. They work a little harder,” says Professor Abhijit Banerjee. “But most importantly, they’re enterprising.”
Prof. Alessandro Bonatti speaks with Man In The Arena podcast host Gotham Chopra about how game theory can be applied to football. “Definitely on Sundays I see a lot of game theory on the field, and I think there are many coaches that would recognize that they are applying these principles but being a good strategist or a good manager involves thinking strategically at a very large degree,” says Bonatti.
A new study co-authored by Prof. Antoinette Schoar finds that the “top Bitcoin holders control a greater share of the cryptocurrency than the most affluent American households control in dollars,” reports Paul Vigna for The Wall Street Journal. “Despite having been around for 14 years and the hype it has ratcheted up, it’s still the case that it’s a very concentrated ecosystem,” explains Schoar.
Prof. Antoinette Schoar and Igor Makarov of the London School of Economics conducted a new study that mapped out every Bitcoin transaction since 2008, reports Fortune reporter Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez. “According to the study, 90% of Bitcoin transactions are not a result of a user buying something with the currency, but rather transactions between a single user’s own crypto accounts,” writes Quiroz-Gutierrez.
In a letter to the Financial Times, graduate student Daniel Aronoff makes the case that the demise of local banks in the U.S. should be examined and regulatory changes should be made to enable them to operate more profitably. “A system that can make small loans to small entrepreneurs not only helps the borrowers, but also promotes a more efficient allocation of resources in the economy," Aronoff writes.