National Bureau of Economic Research

Today, 55 percent of the world’s population lives in cities, a share expected to reach 70 percent by 2050. Much of this growth will occur in developing countries, which are investing heavily in mass transit to expand access to jobs and services. Private minibuses already dominate many urban markets: in Lagos—the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa—minibuses accounted for 62 percent of all trips in 2009, versus just 5 percent for public buses. New public transit investments may therefore impact commuters both directly and indirectly if private operators adjust their routes, frequencies, or fares in response.

Starting in 2020, the Lagos government launched 64 new public bus routes served by 820 large, modern buses. These public buses can carry up to 70 passengers each, compared with 14 in the most common…

Intellectual property (IP) rights and counterfeiting have permeated everyday lives as globalization, technological advancement, and AI flourish. Interbrand estimates that the brand value of Louis Vuitton was $26.3 billion in 2023, as an example of the IP value of brands. The values brands possess generate incentives for counterfeiting and imitation. Counterfeiting cuts across countries and industries. Notably, counterfeit footwear has topped the seizure list of the US customs service for four years, accounting for nearly 40 percent of total seizures.¹ The origins, impacts, and remedies of counterfeits and the protection of IP are pertinent topics to ...

The US Surgeon General has called the child mental health crisis “the defining public health crisis of our time.” In 2020, 13 percent of US children aged 3 to 17 had a diagnosed mental or behavioral condition. In 2021, mental health services for children cost $31 billion—47 percent of pediatric medical spending. Childhood mental health issues are linked to lower educational attainment, reduced employment, and increased use of welfare programs. Also, youth suicide rates are especially high in the US; males aged 15 to 19 have a rate four times higher than in France. In Investing in Children to Address the Child Mental Health Crisis (NBER Working Paper 33632), Janet Currie explores three common misconceptions about this youth mental health...

The surge in remote work in recent years has transformed labor markets, with potentially important implications for the interaction between workplace flexibility and entrepreneurship. In Hustling from Home? Work from Home Flexibility and Entrepreneurial Entry (NBER Working Paper 33237), John M. Barrios, Yael Hochberg, and Hanyi (Livia) Yi explore whether the increased flexibility provided by work-from-home (WFH) arrangements has affected entrepreneurial decisions. They focus on the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment and analyze how the sudden shift to remote work affected new business creation. Guided…