Line of Inquiry: Amir Sufi on how income inequality is holding back the US economy
More than an issue of fairness, income inequality makes the economy work less well for everyone.
Are Google and Facebook monopolies?
Chicago Booth’s Luigi Zingales and George Mason University’s Tyler Cowen discuss the market power wielded by digital platforms, and how to promote competition.
Line of Inquiry: Amir Sufi on household debt and business cycles
How the financial sector's willingness to extend credit to households helps fuel booms and busts.
What really drives our opposition to steroids
What considerations are most important to our perceptions of steroid use? Are there conditions under which steroids might be acceptable?
Eugene F. Fama on the government's role in the subprime mortgage meltdown
Chicago Booth's Eugene F. Fama says that the government played a significant role in creating the crisis by insuring risky loans in the hopes of boosting home ownership.
How can we improve social mobility?
The disparity in wealth between the top and lower echelons of households in the US and other countries has garnered a great deal of research and commentary. But how easy is it to move from one echelon to another—and what could we do to facilitate upward movement?
Creative destruction isn’t as important as you think
Economist Joseph Schumpeter called creative destruction the “essential fact about capitalism.” But though there are many examples of creative disruption that spring readily to mind, the phenomenon may be less pervasive than it appears.
Why are stock returns lower under Republicans?
Though Republican presidential candidates often campaign on pro-business policies, historically the stock market has performed significantly worse when there’s been a Republican in the White House.
Does better pay make better politicians?
In the private sector, salary is one of an employer's most effective tools for attracting top talent. Does the same hold for legislators?
What start-ups should know about how VCs think
What are venture capitalists looking for when they consider investing in a start-up? To find out, a group of researchers including Chicago Booth's Steve Kaplan asked 889 venture capitalists about their strategies, philosophies, and practices.
What's really hurting the American worker
As the US labor share declines, many people blame globalization and automation. But after analyzing the data, Chicago Booth’s Simcha Barkai has a different view: he says workers are suffering because there’s less and less corporate competition.
Today’s monopolies are yesterday’s startups
Competition is the essence of a capitalist economy, says Chicago Booth’s Luigi Zingales. But he cautions that in the United States, industry concentration is growing, and an increasing number of academics are concerned about the ramifications.
How can start-ups attract investors?
Many entrepreneurs hope to attract the attention—and support—of venture capitalists, but very few of them will. What are VCs looking for in their investments? Chicago Booth's Hal Weitzman talks with Booth faculty Steve Kaplan and Ira Weiss and Katherine Wanner of Abundant Venture Partners about start-up funding from the VC perspective.
