Planet Money
Financial Crisis Is 'Green' For The Environment
[2 min 58 sec]
David Kestenbaum archive
Friday, November 20, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Planet Money
GM Faces Long Odds In Paying Back Its Bailout
October 30, 2009 The U.S. government has poured $50 billion into General Motors, and taxpayers own 61 percent of the automaker's stock. Now the question is whether sales can ever recover enough for the public to get its money back.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Planet Money
Health Insurance: Now For Your Dog, Or Hedgehog
October 21, 2009 Veterinary care is becoming more like medical care for humans — better and more expensive. And now, pet owners are beginning to buy insurance policies for their critters. But what will happen if it takes hold?
Friday, October 16, 2009
Planet Money
U.S. Heads For Third Straight Jobless Recovery
October 16, 2009 Economists have begun saying that the recession may have ended this summer. But an expanding economy hasn't led to an expanded number of jobs. Structural changes in the labor market help explain why.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Planet Money
Medicare Data Could Cut Health Care Costs
September 29, 2009 Economists say one of the biggest obstacles to making health care cheaper is a lack of information. Some consumer advocates want access to a Medicare database so patients can compare physicians' performance. That has led to a lengthy court battle over doctors' privacy.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Planet Money
Economists Debate 'Public Option' On Health Care
September 17, 2009 The idea of creating a government-run health care plan to compete with regular insurance companies has received mixed grades among economists. The debate is over whether the plan would eliminate waste in the system as advertised.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Planet Money
Fixing Health Care By Altering Patient Behavior
September 2, 2009 Economists have long said health care, as a market, is a strange animal. One reason is that patients don't act like regular consumers.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Planet Money
Are Doctors More Like Moms Or Mechanics?
August 21, 2009 Economically speaking, doctors are like moms. They have our best interests at heart, take care of us and check our ears when we're little. But there's also an information problem: We can't really judge whether their diagnoses are right — just like when we take our cars into the shop.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Planet Money
New Web Site Lets Patients Rate Their Doctors
August 14, 2009 One problem with health care is that it can be hard to gauge what works. The nonprofit Web site Patient Central surveys people about their experiences with doctors. Physicians at the bottom of the list say a single disgruntled patient can skew the result.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Planet Money
Study: Your Brain Thinks Money Is A Drug
August 7, 2009 Handling money can make painful things feel less painful, a groundbreaking experiment shows. Researchers say it appears that the human brain sees cold, hard cash as a reasonable substitute for another pain buffer — love.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Planet Money
The Shaky Economics Of 'Cash For Clunkers'
August 6, 2009 A government program enticing people to trade in old cars for new ones has proved wildly popular, except with economists. They say the benefits of "cash for clunkers" may not outweigh the costs, in terms of finances or the environment.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Planet Money
Hot Climates May Create Sluggish Economies
July 17, 2009 New research suggests that poor countries experience significantly slower economic growth in years when the thermometer soars. Economists are studying why poorer economies of the world tend to be in hot places.
