What the VW-Rivian Deal Means for Big Auto
The joint venture between a legacy giant and an EV start-up will be a fascinating test of the industry’s effort to embrace technological change.
The New Rules
Exploring the policies, people, and ideas reshaping the global economy
Support for this project was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
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This work was commissioned, produced, and edited by The Atlantic's editorial staff. Support for this work was provided in part by the organizations listed here.
The Federal Reserve’s Little Secret
No one really knows how interest rates work, or even whether they work at all—not the experts who study them, the investors who track them, or the officials who set them.
The Problem With ‘In Demand’ Jobs
Federal workforce-training programs prepare people for dead-end jobs that no one wants.
Risking Everything to Lose Money
Why do professional athletes keep putting their careers in jeopardy just to bet on sports?
The Constitutional Case Against Exclusionary Zoning
America is suffering from a severe housing shortage. A crucial tool may lie in the Constitution.
The U.S. Economy Reaches Superstar Status
No, really.
The Rise of Poverty Inc.
How helping the poor became big business
Is America Ready for ‘Degrowth Communism’?
Kohei Saito’s theory of how to solve climate change is economically dubious and politically impossible. Why is it so popular?
Nuclear Energy’s Bottom Line
The United States used to build nuclear-power plants affordably. To meet our climate goals, we’ll need to learn how to do it again.
The Next Front in the War Against Climate Change
Clean-energy investment in America is off the charts—but it still isn’t translating into enough electricity that people can actually use.
Reaganomics Is on Its Last Legs
Joe Biden’s new tariffs on Chinese goods mark the decisive rejection of an economic orthodoxy that dominated American policy making for nearly half a century.
China Has Gotten the Trade War It Deserves
The Biden administration’s steep new tariffs are a rational response to Xi Jinping’s aggressive economic policies.
The Biggest Way That Elections Have Consequences
Presidents have surprisingly little influence over the economy—except in a single, vital respect: their agencies that issue regulations.
Taxpayers Are About to Subsidize a Lot More Sports Stadiums
You would think that three decades’ worth of evidence would put an end to giving taxpayer money to wealthy sports owners. Unfortunately, you would be wrong.
Why Your Vet Bill Is So High
Corporations and private-equity funds have been rolling up smaller chains and previously independent practices.
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The Inflation Plateau
Prices have been rising faster than expected for the past three months. What’s going on?
Freedom for the Wolves
Neoliberal orthodoxy holds that economic freedom is the basis of every other kind. That orthodoxy, a Nobel economist says, is not only false; it is devouring itself.
Boeing and the Dark Age of American Manufacturing
Somewhere along the line, the plane maker lost interest in making its own planes. Can it rediscover its engineering soul?
The Paradox of the American Labor Movement
It’s a great time to be in a union—but a terrible time to try to start a new one.
There’s No Easy Answer to Chinese EVs
Supercheap electric cars or an American industrial renaissance: Pick one.
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Welcome to Pricing Hell
The ubiquitous rise of add-on fees and personalized pricing has turned buying stuff into a game you can’t win.
The Myth of the Mobile Millionaire
The notion that rich taxpayers will flee if the state comes for their money is mostly fiction.
Right-Wing Media Are in Trouble
The flow of traffic to Donald Trump’s most loyal digital-media boosters isn’t just slowing; it’s utterly collapsing.
What the Perma-bears Get Wrong About the Stock Market
A sustained rally has led to fears of a tech bubble, but the doom-mongers are ignoring the economy’s strong fundamentals.
The Logical End Point of College Sports
If players are workers, schools will have to pay them.
Do Voters Care About Policy Even a Little?
Joe Biden turned one of the highest-polling ideas in politics into reality. Few voters have even noticed.
Trump Media Is the New Bed Bath & Beyond
Donald Trump gets into the meme-stock business.
The Shohei Ohtani Betting Scandal Won’t Be the Last
If the world’s most famous baseball player can be implicated in allegations of illegal gambling, what else is happening in the shadows?
Whatever Happened to the Urban Doom Loop?
America’s superstar cities have avoided the post-pandemic death spiral—so far, anyway.
Critics of the TikTok Bill Are Missing the Point
America has a long history of shielding infrastructure and communication platforms from foreign control.
Caitlin Clark Is Just the Beginning
After decades of treatment as second-class citizens, female college athletes are surpassing men in popularity, interest, and financial potential.
Why Biden’s Pro-worker Stance Isn’t Working
The most pro-labor president in history could hardly do more for unions, but their members aren’t feeling it.
Why Crypto Just Won’t Die
Bitcoin’s biggest weakness may be its greatest strength.
What Is Going On With Europe’s Economy?
A mix of big spending and big government has helped the U.S. avoid Europe’s post-pandemic struggles.
Amazon’s Big Secret
Nearly 30 years after the company was founded, we still don’t really know where its profits come from. The answer will loom large in the antitrust case against it.
A Baffling Academic Feud Over Income Inequality
Has the rise of the one percent really been debunked?
What Makes Russia’s Economy So Sanctions-Resistant?
Actually, they have had some effect—just not one that Vladimir Putin cares about.
Texas’s Social-Media Law Is Dangerous. Striking It Down Could Be Worse.
Beware giving Big Tech a constitutional right to avoid regulation.
What Would It Take to Convince Americans That the Economy Is Fine?
When it comes to prosperity, Americans trust feelings more than facts.