It isn’t often that economics raises the most profound questions of human existence, but recent work of economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton (husband and wife, both of Princeton University) comes close. You may recall that a few years ago, Case and Deaton reported the startling finding that the death rates of non-Hispanic whites aged 50 to 54 had …

  I’m taking you on a nostalgia trip. Remember the olden days (2016), when it seemed outlandish investments in technology startups were a thing of the faraway past (2015)? Snap out of it. Just look at the headlines of the past few weeks. China’s on-demand ride king Didi Chuxing is considering a $6 billion investment backed by SoftBank. Airbnb finalized …

  Given the usual speed of economic reform in India, it’s remarkable that the biggest change in years might actually start on schedule. “Start,” though, is the operative word. If the country’s new national goods-and-services tax does go into effect in July, which looks more likely now that Parliament has passed the requisite legislation, that will be worth celebrating. The …