Economy
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Giving Away Money Is Good for You
Excess wealth is associated with lower empathy, addiction and even unhappiness. Among affluent young people, a radical movement of extreme generosity is on the rise.
No Matter Who Wins, Workplaces Will Keep Getting More Equitable
Workplace conditions in the US have improved drastically in the last five years — a trend that’s likely to continue.
The Small Country Where Women in Tech Are Flourishing
In Moldova, where word spreads quickly, it seems everyone has gotten the memo: Here, women are welcome in tech.
How a Hotel Is Empowering Locals in Cambodia
Thanks to a hospitality school just steps from the luxe Shinta Mani Angkor, Cambodia’s next generation of hotel managers might just be Khmer.
Turning the Lights Back on in Scotland’s Empty Homes
What if you could create housing without starting from scratch? Facing a housing shortage, Scotland is bringing new life to abandoned homes.
On-Site Child Care Is a Boon for Working Parents
When a workplace provides child care, it’s easier for caregivers to juggle family and career — and they’re more likely to keep working there, too.
The Search for the Perfect Natural Period Product
Most menstrual products contain plastic, and more ecological options are pricey. But the “sustainable menstruation” movement is finally gaining traction.
A Brave New Generation of Craftspeople in Kashmir
In a region known for violent conflict, the practice of traditional crafts is helping to restore normalcy and rebuild lives.
Needs-Based Salaries Are Upending Workplace Norms
From new socially just policies to “Happy Money Stories,” more and more companies are doing pay differently.
Inside the UK’s First Open-Access, Pay-As-You-Go Factory
By making manufacturing technology available and affordable, maker spaces like BLOQS are knocking down barriers.
How Schools in Germany Are Preparing Students for Flexible Futures
With interest in vocational training on the rise in the US and elsewhere, a German program promising “no graduation without connection” could provide a model.
Shopping ‘Wonky’ Keeps Imperfect Goods From Going to Waste
A trend that started with fresh produce is now giving new life to toys, homewares, beauty products and beyond.
Building More Than Trails
Recreation makes rural communities more resilient. And it’s not just about tourists — it makes life better for locals, too.
Free Bus Passes Are Giving Indian Women More Financial Freedom
In several Indian states, this simple move is empowering women to join the workforce and granting them independence.
Job Sharing Is Helping Parents Keep Their Careers on Track
For working moms and dads seeking better work-life balance, splitting a full-time job is one way to stay in the game.
For People in Prison, Career Training Begins in a Virtual World
Incarcerated folks are fighting fires, fixing cars and working in hospitals — all in virtual reality — so they’ll walk out of prison ready to hire.
Affordable, Flexible Childcare Helps Indian Mothers Earn More and Worry Less
A childcare cooperative in Ahmedabad has become a lifeline for women working in the informal sector.
A ‘Human-Led Approach’ to Loans Is Changing Lives in Rural India
For those who lack access to formal financial institutions, peer-to-peer lending can be a ticket out of years of debt.
‘It Affects All of Us’: Free Financial Counseling Helps Tulsans Thrive
Through one-on-one, non-judgmental sessions, Tulsa residents achieve financial goals, sending positive ripples across the community.
New York Delivery Workers React to Their New Minimum Pay
Higher pay is on the horizon for the app-based workers who zip around the city.
A Simple Fix Lifts Single Moms Out of Poverty in India’s Slums
Fund A Mom’s direct cash payments are helping mothers in Jaipur feed their kids and change their lives.
Nimble ‘Maker Pods’ Give Fashion Jobs a Light Footprint
Paskho’s new manufacturing model disperses good-paying jobs among marginalized communities.
Minnesota’s Prison-to-Grilled-Cheese Pipeline Is Changing Lives
What started as a restaurant has become a path to entrepreneurship, turning formerly incarcerated folks into lawyers and soul food impresarios.
America’s Green Boom Needs More Electricians, and Women Are Stepping Up
Only 2% of electricians are women, leaving plenty of room for growth in a field that is finding creative new ways to recruit them.
When Tackling Homelessness, Prevention is Often the Best Medicine
By intervening early, often with small rent payments, a Portland shelter kept nearly 100 families out of homelessness last year, saving thousands of dollars in future rehousing costs.
Does No-Resumé, No-Interview Hiring Work? New Data Say Yes
Three years ago, The Body Shop adopted “open hiring,” in which the most basic skills automatically get you the job. A new analysis suggests it’s working.
How Washington State Redefined ‘Homeless’
While federal laws require people to sleep on the street before they can get housing assistance, Washington State is more realistic about what homelessness looks like today.
‘Co-Buying’ Is Surging — and Making Housing More Affordable
A rise in the number of people purchasing real estate with someone they know is helping legions of buyers quit renting and start building equity.
The Green Jobs Boom Is Benefiting the People Who Need It Most
As the US races toward climate resilience, a hiring bonanza is taking hold in communities that rarely see one.
From Textile Waste to Refugee Livelihoods
At Seattle’s Refugee Artisan Initiative, immigrant and refugee women find good-paying jobs and start their own businesses.
‘Green Banks’ Are Turning Climate Action Dreams into Realities
A highly successful model for getting green infrastructure projects off the ground is about to go national thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Supermarket Helping Shoppers Get Loans for Groceries
With interest-free loans, a supermarket chain is shifting the anti-hunger paradigm from donated canned goods to fresh produce for all.
India’s Retired Sex Workers Get a Second Act
In May, India’s Supreme Court ruled that sex work is a legitimate profession. Now, its older practitioners are finding ways to start their life anew.
Companies Are Helping Their Workers Commute Sustainably
Businesses are rewarding employees for leaving their cars at home, handing cities a powerful new tool in their quest to reduce car use.
Black Residents Are Actually Benefiting from Washington’s Spectacular New Park
The $92 million park will span a former bridge — and send real estate prices soaring. A home buyers club is helping residents cash in rather than get displaced.
How to Hire Remote Workers from Economically Distressed Countries
The platform iWorker connects workers in countries like Venezuela with businesses abroad, offering benefits to both.
A Seaweed Farming Boom Is Preparing Maine for Life After Lobsters
A state that has long relied on a single ocean species for economic prosperity is turning to sustainable kelp as a new cash crop.
Traditional Cheesemaking Is Restoring Bosnia’s Landscapes and Livelihoods
After decades of war, an artisanal product that sustained a region for generations is bringing new life to a nearly forgotten town.
No College? No Problem
“Skills-based hiring” is catching on as fewer employers require college diplomas, a major step toward shrinking the racial wealth gap.
Happier Employees, Higher Profits: Covid’s Surprising Lesson for Restaurants
As the pandemic pummeled the industry, some restaurateurs bucked trends by paying their employees even more. Now it’s paying off.
‘Internships’ for Adults Are Helping Women Rejoin the Workforce
Covid put a multi-year gap in millions of resumés. Now some companies are offering a supportive path back.
Meet the Co-ops Building a More Ethical Food Delivery System
The Grubhub model is here to stay. But community-based delivery services could be lifelines for small restaurants battling huge commission fees.
Liberia’s Beekeepers Harness the Power of Simplicity
“Once you have the skills to build one beehive, you can make 100.”
South Africa Is Pioneering a Better World for Domestic Workers
How a country known for labor abuses under apartheid became a place where groundbreaking worker protections are forged.
Where Immigrant Women, Usually Exploited by Fashion, Run the Show
How one Chicago cooperative is reverse-engineering apparel’s colonialist business model.
2021 Was the Year Cargo Shipping Pivoted Green
Political, economic and technological stars are aligning to make a stubbornly carbon-intensive industry sustainable.
The Computer Designed to Last
Repairable, upgradable computers are here, and could make your next laptop something you own for a very long time.
Inside the Pandemic’s Worker-Powered Co-op Business Boom
As the world reels through uncharted economic territory, the co-op model has become more popular than ever.
Why ‘Work from Anywhere’ Works for Refugees
As remote employment becomes the norm, some refugees are discovering new opportunities and autonomy.
Grandparents Watching the Kids? Your Job Could Be Paying Them
An app that helps employers pay for babysitting — even when those babysitters are friends and family — is changing child care economics.
The Surprising Lives of Germany’s ‘Basic Income’ Raffle Winners
For nearly a decade, a German contest has given hundreds of people 12 months of no-strings cash to see how it might change their lives.
How Bogotá’s Waste Pickers Reinvented Their Jobs for a Modern City
As waste collection gets professionalized, the people who keep Bogotá clean and green are making sure they’re not left behind.
Making the Business of Juneteenth Pay Off for Black America
Corporations are embracing Juneteenth. Are they living up to the day’s true meaning?
Akron Citizens Earn ‘Reward Points’ For Shopping Local
It’s a system modeled on the loyalty clubs used by many retailers — but for an entire city.
When One City Gave People Cash, They Went Out and Got Jobs
Residents of Stockton, California who received $500 a month disproved the notion that handouts make people lazy.
When Italians Abandoned This Village, Refugees Brought It Back to Life
Camini was down to 300 residents when it transformed itself into a magnet for refugees. Now it’s thriving.
Spain’s Four-Day Work Week Is a Game Changer
Most experiments with four-day weeks have been motivated by corporate self-interest. That could be changing.
We Can Eliminate Child Poverty
The U.S. stimulus bill includes guaranteed monthly payments to families with children. Will it work? It already has.
The Bakery That’s Owned by an Idea
When sales at a Bay Area bread company took off, its owner struck an unusual deal to make sure its employees would always benefit.
The Deal That’s Saving San Francisco’s Restaurants
As the lockdowns began one year ago, Lenore Estrada discovered a customer base that would save dozens of businesses like hers.
A 19th Century Fund Is Still Helping Philadelphia’s Smallest Businesses
Founded at a time when the government offered little, the Merchants Fund continues to keep tiny businesses afloat.
Libraries Are Going Fine-Free
As fees for overdue items are forgiven, bookworms are flocking back.
Vancouver Gave Homeless People $5,800. It Changed Their Lives.
A single infusion of cash helped recipients pay their rent, get to work — and put their lives back on track.
The Surprising Effect of a One-Time Gift
How a single infusion of cash can help folks turn their lives around.
The Year the ‘Third World’ Came in First
The pandemic has finally busted the outdated myth that so-called developing countries are less resilient than their wealthier peers.
The Casino That Farms Its Own Food
A stone’s throw from the blackjack tables, bison are grazing, beehives are buzzing, crops are growing — and nature is winning.
Berlin’s Second-Hand Craze Is Turning It into a ‘Zero-Waste City’
Buying used goods is trendier than ever, and the capital’s retailers are responding.
A New Generation of Black Farmers Is Cultivating Self-Determination
By going back to the land, Black farmers are resuming a journey toward “food sovereignty” that began centuries ago.
We Know How to Fix Student Debt
The U.S. government spends more on higher education than many countries where students graduate with far less debt. Is there a better way?
How Portland Makes Local Food Work for Everyone
A food hub known as the Redd solves the business and logistical challenges of local food — and helps small farmers become a big deal.
No-Strings Cash Is Helping Black-Owned Businesses Survive
Money from friends and family is what helps many startups survive during tough times. One organization is playing that role for black entrepreneurs.
Germany Is Leading the World Toward a Green Recovery
As Europe’s biggest economy reboots, it — and many others — are planning to transition away from fossil fuels.
No Resumé? No References? No Problem
What happens when you hire the first qualified job applicant who walks through the door?
The Planet-Saving Potential of Whale Poop
How a chance encounter on the high seas between scientists and an IMF economist led to a trillion-dollar epiphany about earth’s largest creature.
Are You Going to Eat That?
A chain of German supermarkets is selling expired yogurt, mislabled jam and chocolate Santas in July. Is this the grocery store of the future?
Make Trains Not War
A landmark deal to let China build Boston’s new subway cars shows how a little creative collaboration could rescue America’s infrastructure.
The Slow Demise of Cash Bail
As it bans holding defendants on bail for nonviolent crimes, New York is the latest state to challenge America’s bizarre system of money for freedom.
Sowing the Seeds of a New Agricultural Economy
Economic risk prevents poor Cambodian farmers from switching to crops that are more valuable and better for the land. What if they had guaranteed income?
Austerity Is Not the Only Way: Portugal!
While other European countries cut their budgets to the bone, Portugal lent its citizens a helping hand. Guess who came out on top.
Free the Floodplains!
Millions of Americans live at risk of flooding, but slow federal flood buyouts drain precious time and resources. How one community is rising above the storm, taking matters into their own hands, and returning the floodplain to nature.
Dead Plants are Powering Stockholm
The biochar process is ingenious, turning green waste into heat before returning it to the soil as an agricultural nutrient. No wonder it’s turning a profit.
DIY: Cleveland Comes Back
Inside the laundry-and-lettuce co-op empire that’s reviving local industry in Cleveland—this time, on the employees’ terms.
How China Sold Us a Solar-Powered World
All those pictures of smog-cloaked Chinese cities mask the fact that China’s cheap solar panels have fueled the world’s green-energy revolution.
Doing the Right Thing is Good Business
These days, fossil fuels look like a shakier investment than ever. As more investors decide the smart money is on clean energy, a tipping point appears near.
The Viking Guide to Oil Wealth Management
While other countries let corporate interests plunder their oil, Norway strong-armed the CEOs into giving its citizens a windfall.
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