Activists during the Solidarity Day march in protest at President Reagan's economic and social policies in Washington DC, 1981.

Moral Economy and the Causes of Wage Inequality

How important are labor unions for combating wage inequality in the United States?
Isador Lubin, Chief of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1937

Where Do Economic Statistics Come From?

Many ways of measuring the economy came about in the decades between the American Civil War and World War II. We’ve been arguing about them ever since.
Aboriginal slaves and prisoners on Rottnest Island, c. 1883 or 1910

How Forced Labor Built Western Australia

The nineteenth-century colonial economy of Western Australia depended on unfree labor, whether from indentured workers, convicts, or Indigenous people.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, bottom left, speaks during the Opening Ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at The Great Hall of People on October 16, 2022 in Beijing, China.

Autocratic Capitalism: An Introduction

Americans are taught that capitalism and democracy go together like motherhood and apple pie. It may be time to unlearn that lesson.
Illustration with a Messy Pile of Dirty Laundry

Fashion’s Flaws

Environmental historian Adam Rome considers the destructive history of fashion and style.
A graphical illustration of a man with a wad of cash and an airplane

Are Millionaire Taxes Self-Defeating?

A common argument against increasing taxes on high earners is that the wealthy will simply move out of the city or state with higher taxes.
A tug boat towing a barge with sand in coastal waterway near Singapore

The High Cost of Sand in Southeast Asia

The clean, green garden city of Singapore has been built on sand extracted—at significant environmental cost—from its neighbors.
Bag of Money with Coins and Bills

How Progressives Legalized Usury

In the early twentieth century, reformers united with capitalists to promote high-interest lending, overthrowing opposition to usury rooted in Christian tradition.
The crescent and star, a symbol of Islam

The Rewards and Risks of Islamic Finance

The principles of Islamic finance date to the seventh century. What do they have to offer to the contemporary global financial system?
A compressor station of the Jagal natural gas pipeline stands as wind turbines spin behind on May 24, 2023 near Mallnow, Germany.

Bye-Bye, Russian Gas!

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sparked an energy revolution, forcing European states to reconsider their dependence on Russian oil imports.