economics/

Houses are built to stay upright. We eat in them, sleep in them, we produce trash that goes out, and we purchase goods that come in. But when there’s an earthquake, houses that are less structurally sound may collapse. If the house is destroyed, the normal equilibrium of things going in and out changes. New products and services are brought in to rebuild the house. Old products and services become less essential for a time.

The old balance gives way to a new normal.

The U.S. has a sexual violence problem. Look at the numbers:

Pick a huge company out of a hat and it wouldn’t be surprising to find that the pay gap between the CEO and the average worker has been widening for decades.

In-state college tuition is a powerful incentive for high schoolers to attend their state’s schools, but it creates a substantial loss for many students across the U.S., according to a paper in the February issue of the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy.