Economic Growth

10 must-read economics stories of the week

A recent paycheck for Delores Leonard shows her hourly wage of $8.25 for working at a McDonald's Restaurant, the minimum wage in Illinois, in Chicago, Illinois, September 29, 2014. Leonard, a single mother raising two daughters, has been working at McDonald's for seven years and has never made more than minimum wage.

Image: REUTERS/Jim Young

Jennifer Blanke
Member of the Board, Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture

A list of some of the week’s most interesting stories on economic growth and social inclusion

Facts and figures. Just about half of 30-year-olds in the US earn more than their parents did at a similar age – down from close to 100% forty years ago. (Wall Street Journal)

Image: The Wall Street Journal

Trump’s tax plans favour the rich and will hamper economic growth, writes Lawrence Summers. (Financial Times)

The potential of big data for growth still remains unexploited. A new report points to leaders and laggards in reaping the benefits of analytics. (McKinsey Global Institute)

Why should all companies become B Corps? (HBR)

Italy’s referendum was the latest in a sweep of meaningful domestic democratic decisions with international repercussions. What does it mean for Europe? (Knowledge@Wharton)

In a move to curb earning inequality in companies, Portland has introduced a new tax. How does it work? (New York Times)

Globalization needs to be made more inclusive to avoid negative consequences. How? (Vox EU)

A new coalition is committing $10 million over the next two years to explore how a Universal Basic Income could “ensure economic opportunity for all”. (Quartz)

Meanwhile, a Canadian province is already piloting a universal basic income. (Independent)

For some Christmas reading, Martin Wolf compiled a list of the best economics books of 2016. (Financial Times)

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Competitiveness Framework

Related topics:
Economic GrowthSocial Innovation
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Social Innovation is affecting economies, industries and global issues
World Economic Forum logo

Forum Stories newsletter

Bringing you weekly curated insights and analysis on the global issues that matter.

Subscribe today

How can we transform the economic growth we have into the growth we want?

Council on the Future of Growth and 2023-2024

December 20, 2024

AI-driven growth: Navigating the path to new markets

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum