How Opening a Savings Account Can Close the Racial Wealth Gap

With Modest Public Investment, Low-Income Families Can Build a Financial Cushion Against a Recession or Medical Emergency

Like many economists who care about American families struggling to make ends meet, I spend a good amount of time thinking about how parents can earn more income to give their children better opportunities and reduce stress in their daily lives. But my real mission is one you hear less about in the debate over income inequality. For families to make their way to a better life, it’s not enough to earn more. They’ve got to keep and grow their earnings, too.

Savings and assets—homes, cars, retirement funds—are launching pads to …

Money Isn’t Corrupting American Politics

But Loose Campaign Finance Laws Are Even More Dangerous and Subtle Than We Think, Says Legal Scholar Richard L. Hasen

Money alone can’t win an election—but that doesn’t mean it’s not a huge problem in American politics.

That was the main message of Zócalo’s first event of 2016, a talk by …

Why Are Credit Card Bills So Incomprehensible?

Attention Holiday Shoppers: Even a Marketing Professor Has Trouble Figuring Out the Optimal Amount to Pay

As we head into the holidays, chances are you’ll be using your credit card a lot more than normal. Americans love their plastic—but not the monthly bills that come with.

The …

Show Me the (New) Money

If We’re Going to Have Fast, Reliable Online Transactions, We Need a System that Actually Works

They said it was imminent. They said so two decades ago. But I am still waiting for a truly fast, reliable, and safe form of money for people—all 7 billion …

Why Janet Yellen Still Needs to Be Patient

In Today’s Global Economy, Even the Mighty Federal Reserve Isn’t in Charge

Sometimes my parenting slackens—say on vacation—and Sebastian gets accustomed to staying up late, taking too much screen time, and passing on his veggies. Pulling him back to normalcy from this …

Your March Madness Office Pools Should All Be Legal

The U.S. Government Doesn’t See It That Way, But Everyone Could Benefit from the $9 Billion Dollars Americans Wager on College Hoops

Roughly 40 million Americans are expected to fill out a total of 70 million brackets and bet $9 billion on March Madness this month, according to data from the American …