Sociology of Wealth
Online stores do not fully replace closed bookshops, study finds
When a German bookstore closes, monthly print sales drop by about 744 copies, and online retailers do not pick up the slack. A new study finds physical and digital book channels are imperfect substitutes.
Does income inequality shrink the audience for culture?
A study of Italy's 20 regions finds that higher income inequality is linked to lower attendance at theaters, concerts, and museums, even after accounting for how much money people earn.
Persistent money trouble tied to later depression in students, study finds
A national Norwegian study followed more than 10,000 students and found that persistent money troubles predicted depression a year later, though much of the link was tied to distress students already carried.
Importing cheaper parts may slow a company’s drive to innovate
A study of 6,024 Canadian manufacturers finds that importing cheap components from low-wage countries was linked to a 15 percent drop in research spending, as cheaper old products dulled the incentive to develop new ones.
Do artists work less when handed free money? This study says no
When 2,400 New York artists received $1,000 a month with no strings attached, they spent more hours on creative work and fewer on outside jobs, even as their market earnings fell. A look at what the experiment revealed.
When the weight comes off: what GLP-1 drugs reveal about the penalty women pay for body size
A Harvard economist used the rapid uptake of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs to ask where body weight matters for women. The answer, her analysis suggests, is mostly at first impressions: new relationships and new jobs.
Big cities build adult skills but may shortchange childhoods, study finds
A new analysis of Census data finds that places good for adult careers tend to be worse for children's long-run prospects, a tradeoff tied closely to city size and how connected a community is.
Growing up rich isn’t the same as growing up wealthy: A new map of American opportunity
A new study tracking 3.4 million families finds that the geography of wealth mobility looks different from the familiar income map, with big cities showing stronger handoffs of housing wealth across generations.
Housing wealth sticks across generations more than income, study finds
A new study of 3.4 million families finds that housing wealth passes down across generations more reliably than income, with the Black-White gap widening sharply among wealthier families and much of the transfer happening outside the job market.
In Germany, kids from better-off families still grow up slightly taller
New research tracking thousands of German students finds that children from wealthier, better-educated families grow slightly faster and end up about 1.2 to 1.3 centimeters taller by age 19.