Economics News

December 21, 2024

Top Headlines

The Social Cost of Carbon, a Crucial Tool for Setting Climate Policy, Omits Key Effects

Dec. 17, 2024 — The social cost of carbon -- an important figure global policymakers use to analyze the benefits of climate and energy policies -- is too low, finds a new ...

What Is a Unit of Nature? New Framework Shows the Challenges Involved With Establishing a Biodiversity Credit Market

Dec. 11, 2024 — Leading ecologists have devised a new framework to classify how biodiversity credit operators define what a unit of nature is. The new analysis demonstrates the challenges involved with devising a ...

Adoption of AI Calls for New Kind of Communication Competence from Sales Managers

Dec. 11, 2024 — Artificial intelligence, AI, is rapidly transforming work also in the financial sector. A recent study explored how integrating AI into the work of sales teams affects the interpersonal communication ...

Increased Area Income Improves Birthweight Rates, Researchers Find

Dec. 10, 2024 — Higher incomes are often correlated with healthier pregnancies and babies, but is it really the money that matters? Sedimentary rocks that formed 390 million years ago, surprisingly, help provide the answer, at least for those who live above the ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:28am EST

Staying Sharp: Study Explores How Brain Changes May Affect Financial Skills

Dec. 16, 2024 — A new article sheds light on how age-related changes may affect the way we handle finances -- and how we can stay sharp as we ...

Better Environmental Performance Boosts Profits and Cuts Costs

Dec. 10, 2024 — Using a new calculation method, researchers found in an international comparative study that investors value corporate environmental performance more than mere information disclosure. In some ...

AI Predicts Earth's Peak Warming

Dec. 10, 2024 — Artificial intelligence provides new evidence that rapid decarbonization will not prevent warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius. The hottest years of this century are likely to shatter recent ...

Two-Way Water Transfers Can Ensure Reliability, Save Money for Urban and Agricultural Users During Drought in Western U.S.

Nov. 26, 2024 — A study offers a solution to water scarcity during droughts amid the tug of economic development, population growth and climate uncertainty for water ...

Study Calls for City Fashion-Waste Shakeup

Nov. 20, 2024 — With most donated clothes exported or thrown away, experts are calling for a shakeup of how we deal with the growing fashion waste ...

Long Covid Could Cost the Economy Billions Every Year

Nov. 13, 2024 — Working days lost to long covid could be costing the economy billions of pounds every year as patients struggle to cope with symptoms and return to work, finds a new ...

Cash Is King: The Surprising Truth About Spending Habits in a Cashless World

Nov. 14, 2024 — Physical cash not only influences how much we spend but also fosters a profound sense of psychological ownership that digital payments cannot ...

Possible to Limit Climate Change to 1.5°C, If EU and 17 Other Countries Go Beyond Their Own Targets

Nov. 12, 2024 — A new study finds that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible, but some countries require support to meet their climate ...

Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions Increase Again in 2024

Nov. 12, 2024 — Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have reached a record high in 2024, according to new ...

Effects of Preterm Birth Extend Into Adulthood, Study Finds

Nov. 6, 2024 — By analyzing all live births in Canada over a six-year period and following children for more than two decades, researchers found that preterm births and the related cognitive, development and ...

Study Explores the Pandemic's Impact on Breastfeeding Practices in Historically Marginalized Communities

Nov. 18, 2024 — A new study has found that 34 percent of mothers said stay-at-home orders facilitated easier breastfeeding at home, stronger mother-child bonding, and extended breastfeeding duration for many women. ...

Land-Use Policy Rethink Vital to Hit Net Zero

Nov. 14, 2024 — Changing how land-use subsidies are implemented would give UK taxpayers better value for money and improve chances of meeting environmental targets such as Net ...

When It Comes to Corporate Climate Action, a Single Policy Isn't Enough

Nov. 13, 2024 — Climate-conscious investors should consider supporting companies with a wide range of climate policies, rather than companies that cherry-pick specific individual policies, according to a new ...

How Local Governments Can Lead the Way in Decarbonizing the U.S.

Oct. 30, 2024 — The success of the $1 trillion that was recently invested by the U.S. federal government to mitigate climate climate change through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ...

Companies and Investors Can Now Get Smarter When It Comes to Nature

Oct. 28, 2024 — Amid growing pressure to report on nature-related risks and impacts, an open-source footprinting tool offers a scientific and transparent ...

Green Growth: 30% of Regions Worldwide Achieve Economic Growth While Reducing Carbon Emissions

Oct. 28, 2024 — More and more regions around the globe combine economic growth with reducing carbon emissions, researchers found. Their study highlights the vital role of national climate actions in decoupling ...

New Research Reveals How Large-Scale Adoption of Electric Vehicles Can Improve Air Quality and Human Health

Oct. 15, 2024 — A new study suggests that large-scale adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) could lead to significant population-level health benefits. The research team used computer simulations to show that ...

Smaller Vial Size for Alzheimer's Drug Could Save Medicare Hundreds of Millions Per Year

Oct. 14, 2024 — Medicare could save up to 74% of the money lost from discarded Alzheimer's drug lecanemab by the simple introduction of a new vial size that would reduce the amount of unused medication that is ...

Transition to a Circular Bioeconomy Requires Getting Prices Right

Oct. 8, 2024 — A circular bioeconomy that reduces and recycles waste, transitions away from fossil fuels to renewable bio-based alternatives, and regenerates natural systems is critical for feeding and fueling the ...

Despite Progress, China Remains Tethered to Coal as Climate Change Pressures Mount

Oct. 8, 2024 — A new paper details how China faces numerous political, economic and technological obstacles as it tries to transition away from coal while balancing the need to combat climate change with the need ...

Green Subsidies May Have Hidden Costs, Experts Warn

Oct. 3, 2024 — Government subsidies for business practices and processes should be approached with caution, even when they seem to be environmentally friendly, writes a group of scientists and economists. They ...

Hurricanes Linked to Higher Death Rates for 15 Years After Storms Pass

Oct. 2, 2024 — U.S. tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, indirectly cause thousands of deaths for nearly 15 years after a storm. Researchers estimate an average U.S. tropical cyclone indirectly causes 7,000 to ...

Getting to Zero Emissions: A Call for Unified Energy Planning

Sep. 30, 2024 — To help speed decarbonization, state regulators should reconceive of gas and electric utilities as serving the same purpose, according to a new report. Without coordinated action, the energy ...

Honey, I Shrunk the City: What Should Declining Japanese Cities Do?

Sep. 30, 2024 — A researcher examined the nonlinear multidimensional factors that correlate with population changes according to city size. The results indicate that population changes correlated with the financial ...

Vast 'Stranded Assets' If World Continues Investing in Polluting Industries

Sep. 30, 2024 — Continued investment in carbon-intensive industries will drastically increase the amount of 'stranded assets' as the world moves to net-zero emissions, researchers ...

How Social Structure Influences the Way People Share Money

Sep. 26, 2024 — A study of informal finance finds that in East Africa, money moves in very different patterns depending on whether societies are structured around family units or age-based ...

Lack of Food -- Not Money -- Drives Poaching in East African National Parks, Study Finds

Sep. 25, 2024 — Researchers conducted a survey of 267 households near Mkomazi National Park in northern Tanzania and found that food security was much more important than financial or educational security in ...

Growing Divide: Rural Men Are Living Shorter, Less Healthy Lives Than Their Urban Counterparts

Sep. 25, 2024 — With an aging population and fewer physicians available, the burden on rural communities is set to ...

Outbreak Detection Under-Resourced in Asia, Study Finds

Sep. 24, 2024 — A new study has revealed that despite the recent pandemic, outbreak detection efforts remain under-resourced in South and Southeast Asia, with only about half the countries reviewed having integrated ...

Demand-Side Actions Could Help Construction Sector Deliver on Net-Zero Targets

Sep. 20, 2024 — Researchers used a detailed mathematical model to demonstrate that the construction sector in the UK and Europe could almost eliminate its carbon emissions by 2060. This could be achieved through ...