Most of us are biased. We scan the world, making emotional and often automatic judgments about people based on factors like gender, race and socio-economic status. We misjudge people. When it comes to hiring, this can result not only in unfair decisions that penalize deserving candidates, but to more homogenous—and less creative and productive—groups of employees. As we … [Read more...] about Leveraging Behavioral Insights for a More Equitable Workplace
Boosting Productive Capabilities to Transform a Nation
It is a rare for a single company's arrival in a nation to be transformative. But the decision of BeamOne, an American firm, to begin operating in Costa Rica in 2008 marks an exception. Medical devices producers need sterilization. BeamOne's arrival to fulfill that need for a growing cluster of multinationals in the life sciences industry meant a mini revolution in the … [Read more...] about Boosting Productive Capabilities to Transform a Nation
Social Environments and the Behavioral Interventions That Work
Alissa Fishbane is a Managing Director of ideas42, a non-profit consulting firm that has grown from a small project of top academics at Harvard to a cutting-edge promoter of scalable behavioral interventions with global influence. A former director of organizations dealing with poverty, health and educational issues, she works with ideas42 in its efforts to address a host of … [Read more...] about Social Environments and the Behavioral Interventions That Work
Who Benefits from Job Creation in Cities?
When it comes to urban economic development, everything is a question of tradeoffs. There are, as economists like to say, "no free lunches." Consider California. The astronomical wages paid by firms like Google, Apple and other digital firms draw thousands of people to the Silicon Valley/San Francisco area, and the high wages of the Hollywood studios lure people to Los … [Read more...] about Who Benefits from Job Creation in Cities?
When Anti-Crime Strategies Reflect Ignorance Rather than Knowledge
When it comes to crime, we are easily swayed by false perceptions and information. We lose our wallet to a pickpocket or hear about a mugging in our generally safe neighborhood and immediately assume that we are in the midst of a crime epidemic. We are pushed to anxiety by politicians who peddle exaggerated homicide statistics to prove they are tough on crime; by the … [Read more...] about When Anti-Crime Strategies Reflect Ignorance Rather than Knowledge