https://phys.org/science-news/economics-business/ en-us The latest news on economics research, business research, management sciences How do some wealthy families remain in the upper class for many generations, while other rich families do not? That is the question author Shay O'Brien (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) tackles in the sociological study "Kinship Interlocks: How the Intimate Exchange of Wealth, Status, and Power Generates Upper-Class Persistence," published in the April 2026 issue of the American Sociological Review. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-kinship-interlocks-rich-stay.html Social Sciences Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:20:03 EDT news695627402 Asian immigrants are both the fastest-growing and highest-earning immigrant ethnic group in the United States, facts that have caught the attention of many economists interested in how these groups—whether investors or residents—impact housing prices, K-12 education, and other important aspects of community life. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-community-effects-asian-immigrants-housing.html Economics & Business Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:00:03 EDT news695625961 New research led by the University of Houston suggests that formerly incarcerated people are more likely to receive job search assistance if they voluntarily disclose their past while highlighting accomplishments earned during their sentence. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-voluntarily-disclosing-incarceration-job-prospects.html Social Sciences Fri, 17 Apr 2026 07:00:01 EDT news695619421 When a bank wrongly charges fees, a debt collector harasses someone over a disputed bill, or a mortgage servicer fails to apply payments correctly, Americans have a formal recourse: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Filing a complaint with the CFPB is not like venting on Yelp. Companies are legally required to respond within a defined window, typically 15 days. That legal muscle makes the CFPB fundamentally different from most consumer redress channels. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-financial-complaint-delays-seniors-veterans.html Economics & Business Thu, 16 Apr 2026 19:00:06 EDT news695572827 Improved methods for social and behavioral sciences research could help enhance public trust in science, says a new study that investigated the robustness of data analysis to understand whether it reliably stood the test of time. It did. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-science.html Social Sciences Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:40:01 EDT news695570281 New research from the University of Bath shows that graduates of elite MBA programs, particularly the so-called M7 super elite US schools, are significantly more likely to become top management team members and CEOs than those with non elite MBAs or no MBA at all. However, the study of more than 106,000 executives in S&P 500 companies between 2000 and 2018 showed the benefits of holding an elite MBA were not evenly spread between men, women and minorities, and altered according to the prevailing economic winds. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-elite-mbas-corporate-america.html Economics & Business Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:40:06 EDT news695559602 There has been no shortage of bold claims recently about artificial intelligence (AI) and jobs—from mass unemployment to over-hyped distraction. Much of this debate is speculative. Often, coming from the tech giants promoting their own products, it is self-serving. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-employment-early-ai-job-disruption.html Economics & Business Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:40:01 EDT news695558042 For many couples, few conversations feel more uncomfortable than talking about money. But new research suggests financial discussions tend to go better than partners anticipate. In a study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science, researchers found that people consistently underestimate how enjoyable, productive and relationship-building financial conversations with their romantic partners will be. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-couples-wrong-dread-money.html Social Sciences Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:20:05 EDT news695556541 A major new international study led by The University of Manchester has revealed how policymakers around the world are becoming far more active in constructing affordable housing. Drawing on evidence from cities including Salford, Shanghai, Nairobi and Paris, the research shows how governments are stepping in where private markets have failed—reshaping housing systems, markets and state institutions in the process. The findings are published in the journal Urban Studies. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-salford-shanghai-cities-housing.html Economics & Business Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:40:05 EDT news695552461 As extreme heat intensifies across the United States, it's widely assumed that rising temperatures will push people to pack up and leave. But new research from Florida Atlantic University challenges that narrative, showing that heat alone isn't driving Americans away—at least not yet. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-hot-reshaping-population-shifts.html Social Sciences Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:40:01 EDT news695552083 Economic instability—including job loss, food insecurity, eviction and homelessness—is strongly associated with higher rates of violence among California adults, according to a new statewide survey led by the University of California San Diego. The findings come from the 2025 California Violence Experiences Survey (CalVEX). The new report provides a comprehensive picture of how violence is experienced across the state, including forms of violence that often go unreported in official data. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-economic-hardship-violence-california.html Social Sciences Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:40:04 EDT news695488681 If you can't get no satisfaction, then maybe it's because happiness does not only stem from pleasure or a meaningful existence. Instead, a new Simon Fraser University study suggests that freedom is the key to happiness. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-autonomy-key-happiness.html Social Sciences Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:20:02 EDT news695474282 A viral TikTok recipe shows how social media, aspiration, and fear of missing out are reshaping what Australians buy. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-greek-yogurt-viral.html Economics & Business Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:00:01 EDT news695471162 When Glenn Carroll talks to managers about the culture at their organization, about 80% of them say it needs to change. Yet they're often unsure how to influence culture, so they fall back on a small set of change mechanisms like aligning leaders around values and using culture-related training and communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-qa-great-company-culture-nice.html Economics & Business Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:40:05 EDT news695470861 Latino-owned businesses in the U.S. continue to overcome funding challenges to pursue expansion and innovation—through strategies such as scaling internationally, acquisitions, and investing in artificial intelligence. Between 2017 and 2023, they grew at a faster rate than white-owned businesses overall—and in California and Florida, they accounted for more than 55% of all net new firms. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-latino-business-owners-growth-ai.html Economics & Business Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:20:06 EDT news695470682 A new study from a University of Iowa researcher, published in Personnel Psychology, provides management lessons that can help newly public businesses survive long-term. For starters, have an HR exec. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-hr-companies-succeed-ipo.html Economics & Business Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:00:04 EDT news695468079 Warren Buffett advised that you should never invest in a business you can't understand. But that hasn't stopped many investors. New research from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin might help them better understand the complications of companies they're investing in. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-investors-complex-businesses-positive-sides.html Economics & Business Wed, 15 Apr 2026 07:00:03 EDT news695450041 From front-line emergency service workers to policy professionals, teachers, and nurses, the public sector is filled with everyday heroes. But how motivated is your friendly neighborhood public servant? Findings from a new study conducted across Australia and New Zealand have discovered that the answer is in their work environment. The findings are published in the journal Review of Public Personnel Administration. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-sector-workers-based-environment-personal.html Economics & Business Tue, 14 Apr 2026 21:00:03 EDT news695384427 Forecasts of the impact of artificial intelligence range from the apocalyptic to the utopian. An October 2025 report from Senate Democrats, for example, predicted AI will destroy millions of U.S. jobs. A couple of years earlier, consultant company McKinsey forecast AI will add trillions to the global economy, while emphasizing job losses can be mitigated by training workers to do new things. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-industries-exposed-ai-productivity-gains.html Economics & Business Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:40:02 EDT news695388301 The University of Phoenix Career Institute has released its sixth annual Career Optimism Index, a recurring national workforce research study of 5,000 U.S. working adults and 1,000 employers fielded January 21–February 6, 2026. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-workers-leveraging-ai-career-mobility.html Economics & Business Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:20:01 EDT news695372522 The well-being of a supervisor is reflected through supervisor-subordinate relationships in employee motivation and performance, and consequently, in the company's competitiveness. In his doctoral research at the University of Vaasa, Project Researcher Jussi Tanskanen demonstrates that an exhausted leader lacks the resources to maintain high-quality relationships with subordinates, leading to a collapse in employee dedication. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in today's intensive work environment and remote work settings. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-boss-team-energy.html Economics & Business Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:10:01 EDT news695314989 Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is opening the door for more researchers to conduct consumer studies than ever before. But that same accessibility may push the field toward increasingly generic results—and ultimately disconnected from real human behavior. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-genai-consumer-generic-biased-results.html Economics & Business Mon, 13 Apr 2026 19:20:04 EDT news695312761 Proposals to raise the minimum wage are often met with arguments that independent businesses may be vulnerable to such increases. In a new study, "Who's Afraid of the Minimum Wage? Measuring the Impacts on Independent Businesses Using Matched U.S. Tax Returns," researchers examined how small and medium-sized firms accommodated minimum wage hikes along product and labor market margins. The study found that firms reacted to increases in minimum wage differently depending on their size, but most adapted well, and the effect on workers was also largely positive. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-small-medium-sized-independent-firms.html Economics & Business Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:20:07 EDT news695306521 Artificial intelligence could soon allow powerful companies to charge each customer a different price for the same product, based on what they think each individual is willing to pay. That is the warning from new research co-authored by competition law academic Dr. Miroslava Marinova at the University of East London, which argues that the real risk is not simply higher prices, but hidden, personalized pricing that consumers cannot see or understand. The paper is published in the Journal of Competition Law & Economics. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ai-pricing-pays-price.html Economics & Business Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:40:01 EDT news695302742 Information and communication technology (ICT) has reshaped our lives, how we live, how we work, how we entertain ourselves. That much is true, at least for the developed and developing world. ICT refers to everything from smartphones and laptops to software and cloud-based platforms and, increasingly, to the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), smart devices in the workplace, our homes and places of entertainment and recreation. ICT has enabled constant connectivity and more flexible working arrangements, fundamentally altering the structure of the modern workplace. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-stressed-digital-tools-blur-boundaries.html Social Sciences Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:20:03 EDT news695296236 A guaranteed income program for artists led to improvement in financial stability and reduced debt, but also improved their motivation and artistic output, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-income-artists.html Social Sciences Mon, 13 Apr 2026 07:00:04 EDT news695279941 They choose their clients, set their own rates and manage their businesses like any other entrepreneur. They are independent sex workers—women who work without pimps or agencies, often away from the streets and organized establishments. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-decriminalization-sex-workers-canada-bill.html Social Sciences Sat, 11 Apr 2026 09:30:01 EDT news694861742 A study of HR professionals shows inclusion-focused AI can reduce disability discrimination and improve fairness in real-world recruitment scenarios. Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how organizations hire. From screening resumes to shortlisting candidates, AI is often promoted as a tool that can remove human bias and make recruitment more objective. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-bias-ai-reshape-hiring-decisions.html Social Sciences Fri, 10 Apr 2026 22:20:02 EDT news695020321 From the Wright brothers' first flight to the speedy development of COVID-19 vaccines, collaboration has been key to innovation. Paradoxically, even competitors can benefit from collaboration—when they hold different pieces of the same puzzle. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-knowledge-firewalls-alliance-firms-weaken.html Economics & Business Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:40:04 EDT news695041455 As local governments and service providers search for the most effective ways to support people experiencing homelessness, a new report from Portland State University centers on problem solving in the experience of those navigating homelessness. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-unhoused-individuals-permanent-housing-steep.html Social Sciences Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:00:01 EDT news695029202