Sunday Reads...
Updated: Mar 10, 2025
An irregular round up of interesting reads. Most of these made me go "hmmmmm," none of them imply concurrence.
Emotional well-being & Academic Achievement somewhat inversely correlated amongst the rising generation, study here.
False-start. More evidence that "head start" programs have no data-backed value, here. The data-set debunking the value of "Head Start" programs is nearly unassailable. The next question should be: Why do they fail?
Divinely-imbued regimes tend to be more authoritative according to this study. Except the worldwide cartel of communism, history concurs.
Just thinking about God makes people better, per this study.
Evolution is selecting more conservatives for the future of the human race, and deselecting liberals per this study.
Want to win an election? Go door-to-door. For candidates in a two-person race it provides a +6% advantage per this data.
Fascinating research on the significant American trend of people moving from low economic freedom towards higher economic freedom locales, here.
Apparently, another unintended consequence of WARN Act regulations is lower innovation in America, according to this research. Thanks Washington, D.C.
M&A gets a lot of negative press. Understandably. And I do not like their short(er) term thinking. But guess who benefits from efficiency in the market? You and I. The consumer gets a lift from M&A activity per this study.
338 and growing is the number of retracted "COVID-19" "studies." What is not retracted are the millions of GRPs shaping public perceptions and policy mandates they supported. Hmmmm. Trust the science or Trust the scientist?
More bad news for corporate cronyism - the cost to taxpayers is even more for less per this research.
Counter-narrative for CNN & MSNBC viewers, here.
You can't make this up! What firms have the highest ESG scores? SIN firms. Fitting. Research here.
Yup. Another study confirms the unchanging nature of human nature: Young loose wars, the middle-aged win them, the old settle and create peace. Study here.
Stop the presses! Facts demonstrate that the more you raise taxes, the more you guarantee government overspending its revenue base, here.
Can tax hikes tame inflation? Hiking personal taxes does, but raising corporate taxes does not.
An interesting take on who benefits from corporate income tax cuts is noted here.
Research suggests a negative impact on innovation - at a macro level - due to the prevalence of Non-competes.
Mandatory minimum wage hikes suppress firms' innovation and tech adoption, noted here.
More bad news for the mandatory minimum wage, it weakens charitable giving in a community, as observed here.
Can the Billboard Top 100 predict the state of the economy?
Do Social Media users have higher inflammation markers? Yup.
Searching for a bright economic future? Move to where there are more pro-market institutions, this data suggests.
What is worse than a powerful Administrative State? Apparently a partisan one.
Productivity, where incentives exist, cannot be artificially curtailed apparently.
The power of positive thinking relearned - how you think about stress impacts how it affects you, this data suggests.
Charting the inflation of drink, here.
