The Conversation

(Ho-Yin Mak, Georgetown University; Christopher S. Tang, University of California, Los Angeles, and Tinglong Dai, Johns Hopkins University) Two electrifying moves in recent weeks have the potential to ignite electric vehicle demand in the United States. First, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, expanding federal tax rebates for EV purchases. Then California approved rules to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035.

(Gianluca Grimalda, Kiel Institute for the World Economy and Nancy R. Buchan, University of South Carolina) The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

(Nirupama Rao, University of Michigan) The U.S. is about to spend US$490 billion over 10 years on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving health care and reducing the federal deficit. Where’s all that money coming from?

(Andrew Johnston, Coventry University and Robert Huggins, Cardiff University) US semiconductor giant Micron is to invest US$40 billion (£33 billion) during the 2020s in chip manufacturing in America, creating 40,000 jobs. This is on the back of incentives in the recent US Chips Act, which has also unlocked major investments from fellow US players Intel and Qualcomm.

(James Morton Turner, Wellesley College) The U.S. Senate passed a far-reaching climate, energy and health care bill on Aug. 7, 2022, that invests an unprecedented US$370 billion in energy and climate programs over the next 10 years – including incentives to expand renewable energy and electric vehicles.

(Vivek Astvansh, Indiana University) Whenever automakers discover that a vehicle has a defect or does not comply with U.S. laws, they must notify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and mail a notice to each customer who owns or leases the affected vehicles. Automakers must also recall those cars, trucks or SUVs – which means they have to fix the defect across the entire fleet.

(Renaud Foucart, Lancaster University) One way to eliminate the competition in business is simply to buy them out and shut them down. And that means less choice for consumers and sometimes the loss of innovative and, in the case of the pharmaceutical industry, even life-saving products. But such so-called killer acquisitions are likely to face greater scrutiny in the US and EU following a recent expansion of competition regulators’ powers.

(Janette Young, University of South Australia and Saravana Kumar, University of South Australia) For you and your pooch a pet-friendly workplace may seem a no-brainer.

(Ekaterina Netchaeva, Bocconi University) The gender gap in pay, positions and even pensions for working women is well-established, but research shows that a gender aspiration gap has also emerged in recent years. This is when women do not aspire to rise through the ranks in the same way as men do, and it could affect efforts to encourage more women to apply for leadership roles at work.

(Nina Willment, University of York) A 2019 poll found that children would rather be YouTubers than astronauts. It made headlines and led to plenty of grumbling about “kids these days”. But it’s not surprising that young people – up to 1.3 million in the UK – want to make their income by creating social media content.

(Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University; Erich Muehlegger, University of California, Davis; Sanya Carley, Indiana University, and Theodore J. Kury, University of Florida) President Joe Biden called on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax to “bring families just a little bit of relief” as average gasoline prices exceed US$5 a gallon. The tax is 18.4 cents on regular gasoline and 24.4 cents on diesel. Biden’s proposal would rescind both taxes for 90 days.

(Vidhura S Tennekoon, IUPUI) A 16th-century proverb advises: “It’s unwise to sell a bear’s skin before catching it.”

(John Logan, San Francisco State University) Starbucks Workers United won its 100th election on May 27, 2022 – fittingly, in Seattle, the company’s hometown. And the union has notched another 46 victories in the just over two weeks since then. It comes six months after organizers won their first two union victories, in Buffalo, New. York.