A new study shows a large gender gap on economic policy among the nation's professional economists, a divide similar -- and in some cases bigger -- than the gender divide found in the general public.
How do they differ?
Female economists tend to favor a bigger role for government while male economists have greater faith in business and the marketplace. Is the U.S. economy excessively regulated? Sixty-five percent of female economists said "no" -- 24 percentage points higher than male economists.
Biodegradable electronics: "Scientists today announced a new class of electronics that can disappear completely, resorbing into its environment after carrying out a designated task."
"When thousands of poor families were given federal housing subsidies in the early 1990s to move out of impoverished neighborhoods, social scientists expected the experience of living in more prosperous communities would pay off in better jobs, higher incomes and more education. That did not happen. But more than 10 years later, the families’ lives had improved in another way: They reported being much happier than a comparison group of poor families who were not offered subsidies to move." I wonder how expensive the subsidies were. Also noteworthy: "researchers did find were substantial improvements in the physical and mental health of the people who moved"
"If China hits the glass ceiling for its rice yields, then one third of the world’s rice would be produced in three countries (Japan, South Korea, and China) that can no longer raise land productivity or expand the area in rice." One commentator provided some evidence that Japan and South Korea aren't using genetically-modified rice, but China seems more amenable to such.
Women apparently make up 8.7% of Dutch prisoners, a figure that's argued to be too high. If you think that the logic underlying the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report is sound, though, that would seem to imply that women are underrepresented in the prison population rather than overrepresented. Else, some of the same impulses that cause men to constitute the vast majority of the prison population might also lead to them constituting over 50% of some more-positive categories... but I digress
(Green countries are members, blue countries have made membership attempts, red countries are observer states, and yellow countries have had their membership suspended). Notice any overlap? North Africa and the Middle East was also ranked by far as having the highest levels of government restrictions on religion:
But wait, the Pew Forum must be biased. It is an American-based organization after all. Fine. How about a similar plot of UN-origin?
