News by Subject Social & Behavior

Study shows a tax on carbon-based fuels would go a long way toward curbing global climate change, and could be designed so that it doesn't hurt the poorest households.

Given the chance to play Robin Hood, most Americans show little interest in taking from the rich and giving to the poor. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science may explain why it's so hard for voters in modern democracies to erase the economic inequalities that separate most citizens from the nation's super-wealthy elites.

Republicans who believe that God is highly engaged with humanity are like Democrats -- more liberal -- when it comes to social and economic justice issues, according to a Baylor University study analyzing data from the Baylor Religion Survey.

New research provides the strongest evidence to date that the race of a political officeholder can have a significant effect on policy -- at least historically.

In a paper being published Feb. 5 in Tax Notes, professors from Indiana University and the University of Virginia report that Tax Cuts and Jobs Act this could result in unexpected drops in earnings for two thirds of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500, with a median drop of $100 million.

Putting the Paris climate agreement into practice will trigger opposed reactions by investors on the one hand and fossil fuel owners on the other hand. A new study now finds that on balance, divestment beats the so-called 'green paradox' if substantial carbon pricing is credibly announced. Consequently, overall CO2 emissions would be effectively reduced.

University of Toronto nutritional scientists are leading a study with national experts calling on the Canadian government to outlaw junk food marketing to children, impose stricter limits on unhealthy nutrients added to foods, and impose a 'sugary drink tax.'

State alcohol excise taxes are typically only a few cents per drink and have not kept pace with inflation, according to a new study in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Raising those taxes, according to the authors, represents an opportunity for states to increase revenues while simultaneously improving public health outcomes and costs related to excessive alcohol consumption.

Bankruptcy attorneys are increasingly encouraging clients to file for the more expensive 'no money down' option of Chapter 13 bankruptcy -- a tactic that's used more often with blacks than with whites, according to research co-written by Robert M. Lawless, the Max L. Rowe Professor of Law at Illinois and a leading consumer credit and bankruptcy expert.

The majority of the US public is in favour of a tax on fossil fuels, provided the money goes into clean energy and infrastructure, according to a new study. The Yale University study surveyed Americans' willingness to pay a carbon tax, and their preferences on how any revenue should be spent. The results were published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters.