Shipping Boat at Sea

What Is a Tariff? An Economist Explains

A global trade war seems well underway as China and the U.S. exchange targeted tariff attacks. An economist explains what they are.
A group of business people chasing a dollar on a string

When Big Rewards Don’t Pay Off

One would think that offering potentially big rewards would inspire workers to create better work. A study found a more complicated picture.
A woman at a table being interviewed for a job

The Only Fair Job Interview

Could taking some of the human element out of interviewing actually make the process more just?
this photograph likely depicts one of the classrooms where migratory workers passing through Chicago obtained practical and academic educational experience.

The Hobo College of Hobohemia

Vagrancy laws targeted hobos at a time when there were few jobs for them. They responded by forming a union and helping to create Chicago’s Hobo College.
A social security card on a plain surface.

When Big Business Backed Social Security

Contemporary conservatives call for the U.S. government to ditch Social Security in favor of private savings. But it wasn't always this way.
A black and white image of a person trapped behind glass

How YouTube Is Shaping the Future of Work

Americans expect our jobs to provide us with not just money but fulfillment. For many, YouTube represents exactly that promise.
Boxes of Cracker Jacks

The Invention of the Giveaway

The appeal of the free gift has always been, for the consumer, about the eternal dream of getting something for nothing.
A child sitting in front of a window on a bed

Was the One-Child Policy Ever a Good Idea?

China's “one-child” policy has been relaxed, and now married couples may have two children. But according to scholars, the damage is already done.
Hand with Skull Shaped Pill

Why Companies Swallow Poison Pills

Faced with a potential hostile takeover, companies may deploy a dramatic shareholder rights plan, colloquially known as a "poison pill."
The Native American village of Secoton

Yes, Americans Owned Land Before Columbus

What you were taught in elementary school about Native Americans not owning land is a myth. The truth is much more complicated.