ECONOMY

A 2014 photo shows shanty houses on a river bank in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Indonesian President Joko Widodo once pledged to close a fast-growing wealth gap.

Gulf Between Richest And Poorest Is Wider Than Previously Thought, Oxfam Says

8:11pm January 17, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

Last year, Oxfam said the world's richest 62 people had as much money as the poorest 3.6 billion. Turns out those numbers were wrong: The richest nine people had as much wealth as half the planet.

Economy

Who's Lifting Chinese People Out Of Poverty?

6:22pm January 17, 2017

by Rob Schmitz

China says it has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty. But who's doing the lifting? And why use the term "lifting" in the first place?

Harvard Economist: History Will Judge Obama As A 'Great President'

5:12pm January 17, 2017

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff about President Obama's economic legacy.

The number of older Americans with student loan debt quadrupled between 2005 and 2015.

More People Over 60 Are Struggling To Pay Off Student Loans, Report Finds

3:47pm January 17, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found the number of people 60 and older with student loan debt has quadrupled in the past decade. Most loans were taken out on behalf of a child or grandchild.

China's President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday in Davos, Switzerland. The global elite have begun a week of earnest debate and Alpine partying in the Swiss ski resort, in a week bookended by two presidential speeches

China's Xi Jinping Defends Globalization In First-Ever Speech At World Economic Forum

10:53am January 17, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

"No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war," the Chinese president said in Davos, Switzerland. He responded to statements by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, without mentioning his name.

2 Economists With Opposing Views Weigh In On Trump's Economic Plan

7:41am January 17, 2017

Steve Inskeep talks to Jared Bernstein, a former chief economist to Vice President Biden, and Peter Morici, a professor and columnist, about Trump's picks for commerce and treasury secretaries.

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Congressional Republicans Take Aim At Taxes On Imports And Exports

7:41am January 17, 2017

by Charles Lane

Big box retailers and advocates for the poor are teaming up for what could be a fight with congressional Republicans who want to change the corporate tax code. At issue is the border adjustment tax.

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After The Brexit Vote, Why Has The U.K. Economy Proved So Resilient?

6:24am January 16, 2017

by Frank Langfitt

British politicians warned a vote for Brexit would damage the economy of the United Kingdom. Six months after the referendum, its economy is doing much better than predicted. Why?

Customers at Puzzles Bakery & Café in Schenectady, N.Y. More than half the staff at the café has a developmental disability.

For People With Developmental Disabilities, Food Work Means More Self Reliance

1:50pm January 14, 2017

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Finding a job and building a life of their own can be a monumental challenge for people with developmental disabilities. But food work can be a good fit for many of them.

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A Mix Of Factors, Not Just Mexico, Cause Decline In U.S. Manufacturing

8:08am January 14, 2017

by M.L. Schultze

President-elect Trump has said American auto workers are losing their jobs because auto companies like General Motors are making cars in Mexico instead. GM says that it's about supply and demand.