Other Writings
Book
The Price of Everything.
"Porter's work out to ring up the audience for Steven Levitt's Freakonomics."
-Booklist
Many of the prices we pay seem to make little sense. We shell out $2.29 for coffee at Starbucks when a nearly identical brew can be had at the corner deli for less than a dollar. We may be less willing to give blood for $25 than to donate it for free. And we pay someone to cart away trash that would be a valuable commodity in poorer parts of the world.
The Price of Everything starts with a simple premise: there is a price behind each choice, whether we're deciding to have a baby, drive a car, or buy a book. We often fail to appreciate just how critical prices are as motivating forces. But their power becomes clear when distorted prices steer our decisions the wrong way. Eduardo Porter uncovers the true story behind the prices we pay and reveals what those prices are actually telling us.
NYTimes
Oct. 26, 2020
La alianza de latinos y afroamericanos que Estados Unidos necesita
El discurso divisionista del presidente Trump ha movilizado millones de votos pero también le plantea a las minorías el desafío de construir una visión conjunta del país.
NYTimes
Sept. 28, 2020
Trump, Biden and ‘Made in U.S.A.’: Same Refrain, Varying Notes
Joe Biden’s economic proposals show how the president has shifted the playing field toward protectionism. But there may be fewer jobs to lose, or regain.
NYTimes
Sept. 4, 2020
The Service Economy Meltdown
As companies reconsider their long-term need to have employees on site, low-wage workers depending on office-based businesses stand to lose the most.
NYTimes
July 21, 2020
Coronavirus Threatens the Luster of Superstar Cities
Urban centers, with a dynamism that feeds innovation, have long been resilient. But the pandemic could drive a shift away from density.
NYTimes
June 25, 2020
Coronavirus Is a Crisis. Might It Also Narrow Inequality?
Economic downturns have often led to political moves to lift the most vulnerable. But recoveries tend to reverse the effect.
Foreign Policy
June 8, 2020
America’s Social Contract Is Still Built on Racial Hostility
White Americans’ continued unwillingness to share the country’s bounty with their black fellow citizens lies at the root of social ills.
NYTimes
June 6, 2020
Coronavirus Shutdowns: Economists Look for Better Answers
Researchers are developing models for more targeted closings (and reopenings) that would curb the spread of infection at a less severe economic cost.
NYTimes
May 19, 2020
Facing Adulthood With an Economic Disaster’s Lasting Scars
Those entering the job market in a downturn may never catch up in pay, opportunities or confidence.
NYTimes
April 21, 2020
Don’t Think You Need a Coronavirus Test? What if I Paid You?
Economists say rewards could overcome hurdles in gauging the overall infection and mortality rates from a limited population sample.
NYTimes
April 5, 2020
How Economists Are Trying to Answer Coronavirus Questions
The pandemic has prompted many in the field to focus on ways to address it and anticipate its aftermath.
NYTimes
March 28, 2020
Race/Related: Covid-19 and the Collapse of America’s Welfare State
“In the United States, people are supposed to survive on their own. Those who cannot, are often left to sink.”
NYTimes
March 24, 2020
One City’s Road to Recovery Offers Lessons, and Hope
Lawrence, Mass., once an industrial power, set out to reverse a long decline with the Federal Reserve’s help. Now it faces a new economic challenge.
NYTimes
March 14, 2020
Why America Will Never Get Medicare for All
Forget politics or money. Racism explains why the country lacks the safety net its citizens deserve.
NYTimes
Jan. 27, 2020
How the G.O.P. Became the Party of the Left Behind
Dayton, Ohio, typifies the forces that have pushed
those hurt by economic change toward the Republicans,
while affluent places become more Democratic.
NYTimes
Jan. 27, 2020
A $100 Million Bet That Vacationland Can Be a Tech Hub, Too
A benefactor’s big gift will create a research center in Portland, Maine, testing a small city’s ability to prosper as a magnet for innovation.
NYTimes
Dec. 9, 2019
A Few Cities Have Cornered Innovation Jobs. Can That Be Changed?
A new report documents the concentration of cutting-edge industries in a few coastal areas and why lawmakers ought to be alarmed.
NYTimes
Dec. 6, 2019
Can a Coal Town Reinvent Itself?
A coal town in southwestern Virginia has been trying for years. Hope is running thin.
NYTimes
Oct. 20, 2019
Estate Tax Can Pay Off for States, Even if the Superrich Flee
New research shows that even if wealthy residents move away, the revenue at death from those who stay outweighs any loss in income taxes.
NYTimes
Aug. 29, 2019
Why Aren’t More Women Working? They’re Caring for Parents
The needs of older relatives remove women from the labor force in the United States far more than in other wealthy nations, at a cost to the economy.
NYTimes
Aug. 29, 2019
Why Midsize Cities Struggle to Catch Up to Superstar Cities
For decades, smaller metropolitan areas closed the income gap with bigger, richer ones, but no longer. So places like Winston-Salem, N.C., are trying to lay a new foundation for prosperity.