https://phys.org/science-news/economics-business/ en-us The latest news on economics research, business research, management sciences A study of digital advertising in the International Journal of Business and Systems Research suggests that memorable visuals are more likely to encourage consumers to buy than campaigns that rely primarily on emotional impact. The findings challenge conventional wisdom about how online advertising influences behavior. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-visuals-online-ad-emotion.html Social Sciences Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:20:03 EDT news703761055 Have you ever wondered why your boss wants you back in the office full-time, rather than allowing hybrid work, where you can combine work from home and in an office? A fascinating study just shed fresh light on this topic. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-narcissist-bosses-oppose-home.html Economics & Business Mon, 20 Jul 2026 18:00:01 EDT news703761027 Early-career funding has a bigger impact on women than men when it comes to their careers in science, according to a new study from City St George's, University of London. While the study found that successful applicants in both groups secure more future research funding than unsuccessful applicants, it also found that successful female applicants receive more citations and are cited more often in their field than female applicants who did not receive funding. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-early-career-funding-scientific-citations.html Economics & Business Mon, 20 Jul 2026 17:20:01 EDT news703781521 The 2026 World Cup has been a real moneymaker for FIFA. Revenue from TV broadcasting rights, ticket sales and other commercial sources is projected to amount to nearly $11 billion, which would make it the most financially successful event in the international soccer governing body's history. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-world-cup-host-cities-investment.html Social Sciences Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:20:03 EDT news703773421 Gender pay gaps in academia are well documented. The harder question is why they persist. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences tested several leading answers to that question. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-gender-pay-gaps-academia.html Social Sciences Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:00:10 EDT news703767001 From game highlights to cold cases to political pontificating, podcasts provide the stage for public conversations in 2026. But are we learning anything from all that chatter? When it comes to investing and playing the markets, the answer seems to be yes. New research from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business published in the Review of Accounting Studies suggests that people who trade individual stocks, known as retail investors, do better because of the information they glean from financial markets podcasts. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-investing-podcasts-super-popular-people.html Economics & Business Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:00:05 EDT news703772281 Social businesses are being prevented from delivering lasting benefits to their regions because of complex policies, unclear guidance, financial constraints and poor use of resources, according to new research from the Durham University Business School. Social businesses are organizations that aim to address social or environmental challenges through commercial activities. They reinvest profits to support their mission. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-red-tape-conflicting-priorities-limit.html Economics & Business Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:40:08 EDT news703757402 Increases to the standard federal tax deduction implemented in 2018 were made permanent a year ago, and researchers are beginning to understand the downstream effects on state and local governments. The increased deduction meant many taxpayers received a bigger tax break by taking the standard deduction instead of itemizing their expenses, including state and local taxes (SALT). However, a Penn State research team has found that lower-income taxpayers who take the standard deduction have become more likely to vote against local spending for repairing or building infrastructure or other community services. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-qa-federal-taxes-impact-local.html Economics & Business Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:00:03 EDT news703750622 My wife stared at me in shock as I ripped open the package. The FedEx driver hadn't even made it back to his truck as I held the item up overhead like a trophy. Fumbling for words, she asked: "Why on earth did you buy a Speedo … with dinosaur tear-away trunks?" https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ads-scrolling-social-media.html Social Sciences Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:40:03 EDT news703748941 Flying abroad for a summer vacation is not as simple as it used to be. Geopolitical uncertainty has already disrupted flight schedules and fuel prices this year. For many, staying closer to home will seem like a sensible option. And in the U.K., warmer summers could also make staycations much more appealing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-holiday-reassurance.html Economics & Business Mon, 20 Jul 2026 08:20:01 EDT news703748438 Nearly 40% of Canadian workers say they feel burned out often or always, according to a 2025 survey by Mental Health Research Canada and Canada Life. The term has become part of a broader lexicon of modern work, alongside quiet quitting, hustle culture and grindset and "taskmasking." https://phys.org/news/2026-07-burnout-isnt-18thcentury-farm-workers.html Archaeology Mon, 20 Jul 2026 07:20:04 EDT news703747801 When schools closed and child care disappeared during the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of working parents faced the same difficult question: Whose job would have to change? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-family-collide-job-flexibility-adjusts.html Social Sciences Sun, 19 Jul 2026 14:00:02 EDT news703687732 A follow-up national survey developed by Western researchers shows workplace harassment and violence continue to be widespread in Canada, with some signs of improvement. The second national survey on harassment and violence at work in Canada was conducted by Western's Center for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children (CREVAWC), in partnership with the Canadian Labor Congress. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-workplaces-safer-violence-persist-survey.html Social Sciences Sun, 19 Jul 2026 10:00:01 EDT news703255503 Hybrid work has brought many real benefits. Greater flexibility can make it easier to manage work alongside family responsibilities, personal commitments and other demands. But it has also created new challenges, particularly for professional couples trying to build two careers alongside a shared life. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hybrid-blurs-line-home-couples.html Social Sciences Sun, 19 Jul 2026 08:30:01 EDT news703497208 Rising energy prices in the U.S. reduce states' economic output, but they also prompt investments in more efficient equipment and technologies that partially offset those output losses over time, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-energy-price-state-economies-spur.html Economics & Business Sun, 19 Jul 2026 05:40:04 EDT news703656578 A new study by a University of Florida sport management professor and colleagues challenges long-held assumptions about how young athletes should train and suggests that Major League Baseball teams might be missing players with a competitive edge. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-high-school-track-baseball-players.html Social Sciences Fri, 17 Jul 2026 18:40:02 EDT news703499171 Technological advances in autonomous truck technology are poised to have significant economic ripple effects on U.S. interstate commerce, highway infrastructure and labor costs, according to new research co-written by a team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign economists. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-trucks-redraw-economic.html Economics & Business Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:00:01 EDT news703499155 Conceived by famed sociologist Paula England in the mid-1990s, occupational devaluation theory helps explain why workers in occupations with more women get paid less than workers in occupations with more men. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-sexes-pay-gap-persists.html Social Sciences Fri, 17 Jul 2026 07:20:03 EDT news703483261 A new study published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living shows that Finnish golf players spend approximately €330 million on golf annually and that this generates an estimated benefit to society almost twice as high. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-golf-generates-million-societal-benefits.html Social Sciences Thu, 16 Jul 2026 22:20:06 EDT news703410509 Influencers and followers together are more effective than influencers alone. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-experts-social-media-messaging.html Economics & Business Thu, 16 Jul 2026 12:00:04 EDT news703418881 Would you trust a large language model to help plan your financial future? Many Americans already do. In a 2025 survey, more than half said they'd asked AI for financial advice. By comparison, about 40% have worked with a human financial adviser, suggesting that when generative AI talks money, people listen. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-llms-nudge-users-smart-investing.html Economics & Business Thu, 16 Jul 2026 08:00:03 EDT news703400641 Americans are dissatisfied with the state of leadership in the United States across several sectors—business, education, government and health care—a Harris poll showed in 2025. The survey raised a foundational question about developing the next generation of leaders: How can today's young people be encouraged to become CEOs, principals, directors and even presidents? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-pool-tomorrow-leaders.html Economics & Business Thu, 16 Jul 2026 07:20:02 EDT news703395481 Hotels have long encouraged guests to reuse towels, limit linen changes and conserve energy. Yet tourism remains a significant source of carbon emissions, and voluntary sustainability programs often struggle to achieve lasting behavior change. New research suggests a different approach may be more effective: connecting the environmental impact of a stay directly to what travelers pay. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-carbon-based-pricing-greener-tourist.html Social Sciences Wed, 15 Jul 2026 19:00:01 EDT news703346212 Schools in the U.S. are often segregated by income as well as race, a reality frequently attributed to residential segregation. Students assigned to K-12 schools based on where they live will, by extension, typically experience that same degree of segregation in their classrooms. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-school-choice-sustain-income-segregation.html Economics & Business Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:40:07 EDT news703339801 China has become one of Africa's largest development financiers. Since 2000, Chinese and other state-backed institutions have committed more than US$180 billion in loans to African countries. The money has been used to finance roads, railways, power stations, ports, water infrastructure and industrial projects. Agriculture has also become part of this expanding partnership. Food systems specialist Adrino Mazenda analyzed Chinese loans to African countries between 2000 and 2024 to find out about China's agricultural spending. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-china-funding-african-farmers-food.html Economics & Business Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:20:06 EDT news703338362 A new study finds that companies are increasingly disclosing climate data—yet coverage of value chains and social factors remains patchy. Using an AI-powered method, a team from LMU Munich and the University of Cologne analyzed 2.9 million sustainability indicators from 10 years of annual reports. They found that companies are increasingly disclosing information about their carbon performance. But when it comes to environmental impacts along the value chain and social indicators, the picture is more mixed. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-sustainability-years-corporate-reveal-conceal.html Social Sciences Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:40:03 EDT news703326385 Every day, billions of people travel from their homes to work, schools, health care facilities, restaurants, public venues and other destinations. The complex patterns that shape how people move between these different locations are broadly referred to as "human mobility." https://phys.org/news/2026-07-highlights-patterns-humans.html Social Sciences Wed, 15 Jul 2026 08:30:01 EDT news703319123 The decades-long switch from human-centered to electronically-based trading has changed the way investors participate in and access financial markets. In a new article, researchers analyze how technology has shaped the retail investment market in the United States. While retail investors have seen dramatic drops in costs, hurdles remain in specific markets. The article addresses the implications of the changes for regulations and regulatory oversight. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-electronic-retail-investment.html Economics & Business Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:20:01 EDT news703255141 New research from Adelaide University has found customers can be an overlooked source of workplace discrimination, leaving gay and bisexual men feeling they must choose between being authentic or protecting themselves from prejudice. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-customer-isnt-reveals-overlooked-source.html Economics & Business Tue, 14 Jul 2026 11:00:09 EDT news703241941 Modern slavery persists because the way global supply chains are designed allows it to remain hidden, according to new research led by Professor Glenn Parry from the University of Surrey and Dr. Mike Rogerson at the University of Sussex. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-modern-slavery-business-decision-accident.html Social Sciences Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:20:09 EDT news703235582