Business and Economics

As top news headlines trumpet American economic woes, U.S. presidential candidates struggle to reassure panicked investors. But how exactly does the economy influence voting behavior? Researchers are finding out.

People who want to lose weight should probably think twice about stocking up on 100-calorie mini-packs. A new study shows dieters actually eat more food and calories if the portions are presented in small sizes and packages. --by Debbie Freeman

Electric utilities are in the business of selling electrons. But these days they are promoting conservation and asking customers not to buy as much of their product. Is going Green purely an altruistic move? Actually, it's also good business strategy. --by Carrie Barnett

If you want to understand how likely doctors are to use information technology, look at how they get paid. --by Carrie Barnett

Megan McGinnity has has studied child slavery in Ghana. She has studied the sex trade in Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia. The ASU honors student says that seeing these problems through the lens of economics helps explain peoples' incentives. She hopes that changing the incentive structure can help solve these and other daunting problems of human trafficking. (part 2 of 3) --by Sheilah Britton

Anyone who watches television in the United States might logically conclude that this is a nation plagued by allergies, depression and arthritis. Ads for medicines to address such conditions make it seem as though ailment sufferers outnumber the healthy. But, it wasn't always so. --by Carrie Barnett

How do people manage the line between their workplace roles and their "real" personalities? ASU researchers say that getting in and out of a role may appear to be simple, but it involves complex adjustments. And sometimes the dividing line gets blurry. --by Carrie Barnett

Consumers seem to believe that a disgusting product--such as diapers or cat litter--somehow taints the products near it, according to studies of customer behavior. This sense of "product contamination" can hurt retail sales. -- by Carrie Barnett

Applying the principles of supply chain management to public health emergencies is no simple task. ASU researchers are using the Decision Theater to help visualize a complex combination of data.--by Carrie Barnett

Do you try to predict who will win a game show? Do you place bets on sports teams? ASU marketing professors say that making predictions about these kinds of events decreases the fun of watching them.--by Carrie Barnett