Economy + Business - The Conversation

A food delivery worker rides through an intersection.

Seattle tried to guarantee higher pay for delivery drivers – here’s why it didn’t work as intended

Andrew Garin, Carnegie Mellon University; Brian K. Kovak, Carnegie Mellon University, and Yuan An, Carnegie Mellon University

a fisherman holds a pole in the foreground as an oil tanker sails by at sunset

Soaring gas prices prompt Trump to ease oil tanker rules – how waiving the Jones Act affects what you pay at the pump

Christopher Niezrecki, UMass Lowell

Tax changes taking effect in 2026 may boost the number of donors but lead to the US missing out on an estimated $5.7B a year in charitable giving

Jon Bergdoll, Indiana University and Patrick Rooney, Indiana University

A man in a suit uses scissors to cut strings holding money bags up.

A pet-friendly homeless shelter pilot reduced the rate of homelessness among the people it helped in California

Benjamin F. Henwood, University of Southern California

A woman holds up her dog while sitting on the sidewalk in front of a row of weathered tents.

Controversy over Reese’s ingredients reveals standard food industry practices most consumers never notice

Jonathan Deutsch, Drexel University

Three chocolate peanut butter cup candies in a row on white background

A successful USDA program that has supported more than 533,000 affordable rental homes in rural America is getting phased out

Brian Y. An, Georgia Institute of Technology

Image representing rising housing costs, with block houses and an upward-facing red arrow.

Trump and the Federal Reserve

A man in a suit gestures with his hands while talking.

3 things to know about Kevin Warsh, Trump’s nod for Fed chair

D. Brian Blank, Mississippi State University and Brandy Hadley, Appalachian State University

How the Supreme Court might protect the Fed’s independence by using employment law in Trump v. Cook

Elizabeth C. Tippett, University of Oregon

A woman wearing formal attire and pearls looks off into the distance.

Why the world’s central bankers had to speak up against Trump’s attacks on the Fed

John Hawkins, University of Canberra

Why Trump’s new pick for Fed chair hit gold and silver markets – for good reasons

Henry Maher, University of Sydney

Kevin Warsh walking outside after a conference in 2024.

DOJ criminal probe highlights risk of Fed losing independence – a central bank scholar explains what’s at stake

Cristina Bodea, Michigan State University

Two men in hard hats chart and look at a piece of paper.

Economics

an obscured skyline can be seen as smoke rises

War in Middle East brings uncertainty and higher energy costs to already weakening US economy

Michael Klein, Tufts University

Measuring poverty on a spectrum instead of an arbitrary line conveys a more accurate picture of inequality

Olivier Sterck, University of Oxford

A hand draws steps that ascend, ending with a big dollar sign.

When unpaid cooking, cleaning and child care get a dollar value, income inequality in the US shrinks – but the gap has grown since 1965

Leila Gautham, University of Leeds and Nancy Folbre, UMass Amherst

Woman looks at a messy living room on a sunny day.

Far from random, China’s global port network is clustering near the world’s riskiest trade routes

Dylan Spencer, Georgia Southern University; Gohar Petrossian, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Stephen Pires, Florida International University

The silhouettes of container cranes against a sunset

Why surging oil prices are a shock for the global economy – but not yet a crisis

Stella Huangfu, University of Sydney

A vessel is seen anchoring off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 01 March 2026

Subscribe to our Global Economy and Business newsletter

Insight in your inbox, every week

Business

aerial view of an oil tanker in the strait of hormuz

The oil price surge is just one symptom of a supply chain network that is not fit for this age of global tensions

Maryam Lotfi, Cardiff University

Drug company ads are easy to blame for misleading patients and raising costs, but research shows they do help patients get needed treatment

Anna Chorniy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Institute for Humane Studies

Back of a person's head as they watch tv while holding a remote

How the Seattle Seahawks’ sale will score a touchdown for charity 8 years after Paul Allen’s death

Reid Kress Weisbord, Rutgers University - Newark and Naomi Cahn, University of Virginia

Man in a gray jacket waves, while surrounded by confetti and football players.

Are women board members risk averse or agents of innovation? It’s complicated, new research shows

Stephen J. Smulowitz, Wake Forest University

Silhouette shadows of business team meeting in office.

OpenAI has deleted the word ‘safely’ from its mission – and its new structure is a test for whether AI serves society or shareholders

Alnoor Ebrahim, Tufts University

A caution sign is seen in the midst of a data illustration.

Work

A hand holds an envelope with a check from the US treasury inside.

Big beautiful refund? 5 tax code changes that may put more money in your pocket

Jim Franklin, Western Governors University School of Business

Family-friendly workplaces are great − but ‘families of 1’ get ignored

Peter McGraw, University of Colorado Boulder

Why corporate America is mostly staying quiet as federal immigration agents show up at its doors

Alessandro Piazza, Rice University

Denmark’s generous child care and parental leave policies erase 80% of the ‘motherhood penalty’ for working moms

Alexandra Killewald, University of Michigan

A woman in a parka leans over a child who is wearing a knit cap.

Colorado ranchers and consumers can team up to make beef supply chains more sustainable

Jordan Kraft Lambert, Colorado State University; Jennifer Martin, Colorado State University; Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, Colorado State University, and Sara Place, Colorado State University

A child in a cowboy hat, plaid shirt and jeans looks out over a grassy field full of cows.

Finance

A traveller looks at an airport display showing most flights are cancelled

Why doesn’t travel insurance cover war?

Paul Latimer, Swinburne University of Technology

What oil, stocks and bonds are telling us about the Iran conflict and how long it might last

Daniele D'Alvia, Queen Mary University of London

a trader at the new york stock exchange studies prices on a monitor after the opening bell on monday.

Could global tensions finally see Sweden warming towards the euro?

Fredrik NG Andersson, Lund University

a swedish flag hangs outside a cafe in stockholm with people passing by in the street

Supreme Court is set to rule on constitutionality of Trump tariffs – but not their wisdom

Kent Jones, Babson College

A placard with 'GOP Tariffs Making America Broke Again' written on it.

International aid groups are dealing with the pain of slashed USAID funding by cutting staff, localizing and coordinating better

Sarah Stroup, Middlebury College and Jennifer Hadden, Brown University

A man holds a sack of rice with USAID branding on it while speaking to other people.

Philanthropy and nonprofits

Two men in suits talk while sitting on a bench with athletes milling around in the background.

Gifts from top 50 US philanthropists jumped to $22.4B in 2025 − Mike Bloomberg, Bill Gates and the estate of Paul Allen lead a list of the biggest givers

David Campbell, Binghamton University, State University of New York; Hans Peter Schmitz, North Carolina State University, and Lindsey McDougle, Rutgers University - Newark

Crowdfunded generosity isn’t taxable – but IRS regulations haven’t kept up with the growth of mutual aid

Shelly Tygielski, Indiana University and Pamala Wiepking, Indiana University; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

An outstretched hand poking out from a smartphone holds a $ coin that someone is receiving as they exit another phone.

With less charitable giving flowing directly to charities, a tax policy scholar suggests some policy fixes

Ray Madoff, Boston College

boat in the sea with island of dollars, money falling from the sky. 3d render

Donor-advised funds have more money than ever – and direct more of it to politically active charities

Brian Mittendorf, The Ohio State University and Helen Flannery, University of Vermont

Hand holding a donation box as other hands put money into a box.

Nonprofit news outlets are often scared that selling ads could jeopardize their tax-exempt status, but IRS records show that’s been rare

Katherine Fink, Pace University

A woman speaks into a large microphone while sitting at a desk with a lot of recording equipment.