Key Highlights
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A study of US tariffs shows that when other countries respond by signing new trade deals instead of retaliating, it leads to higher real income for them and the world. This finding suggests that seeking new markets is a more effective strategy than trade wars, even when facing protectionist policies.
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Splitting local governments into smaller districts in Indonesia reduced economic growth in the short term, despite receiving more money from the central government. This happened because the new districts spent more on administration without improving public services, showing that bigger isn’t always better for government efficiency.
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Research from Quebec (1800–1970) reveals that marriage has been highly assortative—meaning people married others of similar social status—since the early 1800s, and a woman’s own education and skills were just as important as her family’s wealth in determining who she married. This challenges the idea that women’s roles in social mobility are a recent phenomenon, showing they have always been key.
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In Africa, a person’s poverty status is directly linked to receiving lower quality healthcare at government hospitals, including longer waits and less respect from staff. This connection only happens when people actually use the public health facilities, highlighting that improving healthcare delivery is as crucial as fighting poverty itself.
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For investors managing stock portfolios, a simple, decades-old method for predicting volatility (the EWMA model) performs as well as or better than newer, more complex models that use high-frequency data. This means that for daily and weekly investment decisions, a straightforward tool can be just as effective, saving time and complexity.
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