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Business & Economics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 13-Jul-2025 17:11 ET (13-Jul-2025 21:11 GMT/UTC)

Fool yourself: People unknowingly cheat on tasks to feel smarter, healthier

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

When given the opportunity, individuals will cheat to feel smarter or healthier, engaging in diagnostic self-deception to convince themselves that their performance is due to their ability and not the cheating, according to Sara Dommer, a faculty member at Penn State.

Journal: Journal of the Association for Consumer Research

Austin Fintech Event Feb. 19

University of Texas at Austin
Meeting Announcement

Registration is open for the 2025 Business Outlook event in Austin, bringing together financial technology experts for a critical conversation about the industry’s future, Feb. 19 in the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center’s Grand Ballroom on The University of Texas at Austin campus.

Study in India shows kids use different math skills at work vs. school

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study by MIT economists shows a wide gap between the kinds of math problems kids who work in retail markets do well and the kinds of problems kids in school do well.

Journal: Nature

Neurocognitive disparities in aging: Exploring ethnicity & mental health

Impact Journals LLC
Peer-Reviewed Publication

BUFFALO, NY—February 5, 2025 — A new research paper was published in Aging (Aging-US) on November 27, 2024, in Volume 17, Issue 1, titled “Neurocognitive disparities: investigating ethnicity and mental health in rural aging adults.”

Journal: Aging-US

How AI bias shapes everything from hiring to healthcare

University of Oklahoma
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Naveen Kumar, an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business, has co-authored a study emphasizing the urgent need to address bias by developing and deploying ethical, explainable AI in the wake of new international LLM models from DeepSeek and Alibaba.

Journal: Information & Management

Air pollution worsened COVID-19 mortality, especially in vulnerable communities

University of Connecticut

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, statistics emerged showing significant discrepancies in mortality by county.

Shinsuke Tanaka, assistant professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, wanted to use his expertise in environmental and health economics to help understand what was at the root of this puzzle. Tanaka published a paper in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management showing that counties with more days of downwind pollution from power plants had higher COVID-19 mortality rates. This impact was more pronounced in under-resourced communities.

Journal: Journal of Environmental Economics and Management

Low-cost laparoscope designed for low- and middle-income countries

SPIE--International Society for Optics and Photonics
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers reporting in Biophotonics Discovery recently developed the KeyScope, a low-cost laparoscope designed to address the challenges faced by low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in accessing laparoscopic surgery. Traditional laparoscopes are often unaffordable in these regions. The KeyScope significantly reduces costs, by more than 99 percent. Instead of fragile lens systems and fiber optics, it uses LEDs and a small camera, connecting to a laptop via USB for power and video feed and enabling functionality during power outages. Its waterproof design and compatibility with submersion sterilization enhance its suitability for LMICs. Local manufacturing in Uganda ensures accessibility and servicing. The KeyScope delivers high-resolution images comparable to standard laparoscopes, offering a promising solution for improving surgical outcomes in resource-limited settings.

Journal: Biophotonics Discovery