Christine Lagarde and Jonathan Ostry, “The macroeconomic benefits of gender diversity”
(VOXeu, 5 December 2018)
Massive evidence has shown that the gap between female and male labour force participation comes at a significant economic cost, for countries and companies alike. The IMF managing director and deputy head of research go further, arguing that the economic benefits from gender diversity are likely to be larger than suggested by previous studies. They make the case for gender equity even more compelling and pressing (reads in 5-6 min).
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Ryan Broderick, “The “Yellow Jackets” Riots In France Are What Happens When Facebook Gets Involved With Local News”
(BuzzFeed, 6 December 2018)
The Yellow Jackets movement that is now engulfing French politics couldn’t have happened without social media – like the anti-Muslim “Facebook riots” in Myanmar and Sri Lanka or the WhatsApp lynchings in Brazil and India. This article is only descriptive but it begs the question of how to deal with an ideological free-for-all movement born almost entirely from Facebook. It has no real leader or coherent political stance beyond viral anger, and most of the structure of the movement is being decided by whichever video / news (fake or not) spreads far enough to make an impact (reads in 7-8 min).
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Derek Thompson, “Millennials Didn’t Kill the Economy. The Economy Killed Millennials”
(The Atlantic, 6 December 2018)
This article is US-focused, but its conclusions most likely apply to other Western countries as well. According to a new report by Fed economists, “Millennials do not appear to have preferences for consumption that differ significantly from those of earlier generations.” Millennials are simply “less well off than members of earlier generations when they were young, with lower earnings, fewer assets, and less wealth.” The US system has thrown them into debt, depressed their wages, kept them from buying homes—and then blamed them for everything (reads in 6-7 min).
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Yves Smith, “Uber Is Headed for a Crash”
(New York Magazine, 5 December 2018)
At a time when big tech is in the midst of a dip, this makes an even more interesting read. This article argues that Uber is a lousy investment proposition. The most highly valued private company in the world projects an image of inevitability and invincibility, but it just posted another quarter of losses (over $1bn, after $4.5 billion of losses in 2017). The article’s conclusion: Uber is a textbook “bezzle” – Galbraith’s coinage for an investment swindle where the losses have yet to be recognized (reads in 7-8 min).
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Tim Herrera, “Hide Your Phone When You’re Trying to Work. Seriously”
(The New York Times – metered paywall, 2 December 2018)
Getting our phone out of sight: it sounds so obvious, yet so very few of us do it… The biggest roadblock to our productivity and concentration is the smartphone on our desk. Study after study has shown that the mere presence of our phone – even if it’s powered off, and even if we are actively and successfully ignoring it – “reduces available cognitive capacity”. A recent academic article calls this “brain drain.” (Reads in 4-5 min).
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