Economic development is often measured at the national level, yet many of the activities that generate growth occur through firms. Businesses invest in labor, capital, and technology, and their improved productivity helps increase profits and wages, boosting economic activity and raising living standards. As firms advance, they often trade on foreign markets – which can amplify growth and development, both within their country and throughout the global economy.

Economists have long been interested in how space – or distance – affects economic activity between buyers and sellers, firms and workers, or global trading partners. But until recently, traditional models have struggled to incorporate spatial complexity, even as more and more data have become available. For Costas Arkolakis, an economics professor at Yale and EGC affiliate, this tension has been a major research motivation.

Auction-based water markets, which distribute the greatest amount of water to the highest bidders, have been lauded for their ability to meet demand efficiently. Amid increasing threats of water scarcity, they have become a favored approach in countries like the United States and Australia. However, analyses of water auctions’ efficiency have typically omitted key factors, such as rainfall volatility, sustainability of water supply, and farmers’ liquidity constraints (limitations on their cash to purchase water). In certain contexts, however, other water distribution systems may be more effective.

Yuichi Kitamura is an expert on econometrics who has introduced new methods that have changed how scholars approach the most fundamental problems in the field.

Yale sociologist Emily Erikson’s latest book explores how companies and politics reshaped economic thought in the 17th century to privilege national prosperity.

Philipp Strack, director of the Computer Science and Economics interdepartmental degree program, talks about how the program bridges these critical fields.

When couples with similar educational backgrounds marry, it increases income and domestic equity in the home — and exacerbates inequality between households.

Led by Yale economists, the 1% Steps for Health Care Reform Project aims to lower health care spending by taking on small — but significant — inefficiencies.

Work by Yale economists Zack Cooper and Fiona Scott Morton exposed a pricey national problem — one that they’ve successfully lobbied Congress to solve.

School closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic are widening the learning gap between students in low-income and wealthier communities, a Yale study finds.