The Best of NBER
The most popular NBER articles, as voted by our community.
The National Bureau of Economic Research is dedicated to conducting and disseminating nonpartisan economic research.
NBER on Society
Why Women Won
How, when, and why did women in the US obtain legal rights equal to men’s regarding the workplace, marriage, family, Social Security, criminal justice, credit markets, and other parts of the economy and society, decades after they gained the right to vote? The story begins with the civil rights movement and the somewhat fortuitous nature of the early and key women’s rights legislation. The women’s movement formed and pressed for further rights. Of the 155 critical moments in women’s rights history I’ve compiled from 1905 to 2023, 45% occurred between 1963 and 1973. The greatly increased employment of women, the formation of women’s rights associations, the belief that women’s votes mattered, and the unstinting efforts of various members of Congress were behind the advances. But women soon became splintered by marital status, employment, region, and religion far more than men. A substantial group of women emerged in the 1970s to oppose various rights for women, just as they did during the suffrage movement. They remain a potent force today.
Popular
These are some all-time favorites with Refind users.
The Two Life Cycles of Human Creativity
At what stage of their lives are great innovators most creative? There are two very different answers to this question. Some great innovators make their most important discoveries suddenly, very early…
The Shrinking Universe of Public Firms
Finance and investment experts note a disturbing pattern in US equity markets: a sharp drop in the number of companies that trade on stock exchanges, along with fewer initial public offerings from new firms. Financial scholar René M. Stulz examines the curious dynamic of diminished company association with US public capital markets. getAbstract suggests this astute report to investors, executives and financial services professionals for its exploration of a stock market puzzle.
Work of the Past, Work of the Future
Technology, globalization, demographics and the rise of the gig economy are just a few of the factors that have changed the US labor market. Professor David H. Autor examines the current American job environment in this eye-opening report. He assesses why real wage growth for the non-college-educated employee has shrunk dramatically, while college-educated workers have seen pay increases. Labor specialists and hiring managers will appreciate this insightful study for its thorough appraisal of wage inequality, labor market conditions and US work dynamics.
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