What’s So Bad About A Monopoly?
Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods has drawn the ire of a new antitrust movement, which argues against the dangers of industry monopoly.
How Barbed Wire Changed Farming Forever
On June 25, 1867, Lucien B. Smith of Ohio received the first patent for barbed wire. Within a few decades, barbed wire transformed the American West.
The Gender Gap Is Even More Insidious Than You Thought
Women are more likely to be excluded from key networks, less likely to have had managerial experience, and have fewer mentors to signpost the way forward.
The Secret Gay Business Network of Midcentury America
In the 1940s and 50s, a life of business travel represented a sense of freedom for gay men that would have been impossible in earlier decades.
Could Youth Unemployment in the Middle East Be Dangerous?
Nearly half the population in the Middle East is under 25 years old, and their unemployment rate hovers at a staggering 30%.
Could Sears Have Avoided Becoming Obsolete?
Amid a broader decline of American retail, Sears is struggling. Did changes in its business model over the course of its history doom it to failure?
Selling the Men’s Wedding Ring
How changing mores, cultural pressures, and, yes, the jewelry industry made two-ring wedding ceremonies the norm in America.
Should Citizenship Be For Sale?
Should you be able to buy your way to citizenship? Economic research reveals some merits behind the idea, but others see classism and discrimination.
How Conflict Boosts the Economy
Historically speaking, we are living in unusually peaceful times. But does peacetime mean bad things for the economy, which is often boosted by war?
The Problem With Privatizing Prisons
If private prisons make their profit from criminal society, its goes against business sense to reduce criminality.