With COVID-19 making its way around the United States, people are emptying stores of toilet paper. Archaeology throws a light on other bouts of odd consumer behavior.

Some companies will never restart

Mitt Romney has joined the chorus of voices calling for all Americans to receive free money directly from the government.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global pandemic as the coronavirus spreads rapidly across the world (WHO 2020). As tumbling stock markets reveal growing fears about the potential economic impact, a number of economists have responded quickly with research-based commentary on the likely damage, the mechanisms of economic contagion and what governments can do about it (Baldwin and Weder di Mauro 2020).

It would be costly, but it may be time for President Trump to shut all nonessential businesses in the United States, to wage full-scale war on coronavirus.

The French government is prepared to use all means to support big companies suff...

The coronavirus shutdown of 2020 is perhaps the most remarkable interruption to ordinary life in modern history. It has been spoken about as a war. And one is reminded of the stories told of the interruption of normality in 1914 and 1939. But unlike a war, the present moment involves demobilisation not mobilisation. While the hospitals are on full alert, the majority of us are confined to quarters. We are deliberately inducing one of the most severe recessions ever seen. In so doing we are driving another nail into the coffin of one of the great platitudes of the late 20th century: it’s the economy stupid.

“We are freezing the economy.”

We should look at individuals—not national averages—as the unit of analysis, and ask: Are wages adequate for full-time workers?

It's unclear if the Trump administration could take the action or if it would require legislation in Congress.

Retailers predict rising prices if President Trump goes through with his threat to add new tariffs to Chinese imports. Meanwhile, the White House announced a deal to boost beef exports.

“Wealth work” is one of America’s fastest-growing industries. That’s not entirely a good thing.

In the same way that Capital in the Twenty-First Century transformed the way economists look at inequality, Piketty’s new book Capital and Ideology will transform the way political scientists look at their own field.

Economics is predictably unpredictable, says Microsoft's co-founder in an interview.

Elites are finding more ways to ensure that their children never run out of chances to fail.

At first glance, it may seem like a paradox: Even as the economy rides a 10-year winning streak, tens of thousands of workers across the country, from General Motors employees to teachers in Chicago, are striking to win better wages and benefits.

Some may argue that top earners are simply super skilled, but that’s not what the evidence suggests.

The next decade is likely to see higher prices and interest rates and a reversal of globalisation, but also a reduction in inequality and increased climate action, predicts one of the world's biggest banks.

The stakes couldn’t be higher.

Recipients have used the money to apply for better jobs, spend more time with their children, or save for better housing