“…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
“…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
“Unintended Consequences provides a provocative interpretation of the causes of the global financial crisis and the policies needed to return to rapid growth. Whether you agree or not, this analysis is well worth reading.” - Nouriel Roubini, New York University; Chairman, Roubini Global Economics
“…serious thinking for serious thinkers. …a thought-provoking blueprint for growing middle- and working-class incomes.” - Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
“Unintended Consequences represents the most cogent and persuasive analysis of the Financial Crisis to date.” - Andrei Shleifer, 1999 John Bates Clark Medal Winner
“…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“…challenges misconceptions that distort our economic debates.” - Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute
“Unintended Consequences is far smarter and more thought-provoking than most economics written for the general public” - Greg Mankiw, Harvard University, Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors
“Unintended Consequences is full of substance, it is one of the must-read books of the year, and once I finish it I will be giving it a second read through right away.” - Tyler Cowen, Professor, George Mason University
“There are an amazing number of good ideas and interesting points made in Unintended Consequences. The thinking underlying it, and the obvious depth of understanding of the author, are very impressive.” - Steven Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics; 2004 John Bates Clark Medal
“Unintended Consequences offers deep and well-argued analyses on almost every issue.” - The New York Times
“…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Evidence on marriage, fertility, parenting, household formation, gender roles, and the relationship between family life and economic outcomes. Coverage connects changing families to work, education, mobility, wellbeing, and demographics.
AI Summary.In Spain, immigrant households work less, earn less, pay less in taxes, and are more likely to use social assistance than native households at every level of education. Non-EU-origin households are almost three times as likely to receive social assistance, with 6% of highly educated non-EU households receiving it versus 4.4% of all native households.
Nicholas EberstadtAmerican Enterprise Institute
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Eberstadt argues immigration at scale may not postpone the crisis of the European welfare state. In Spain, non-EU immigrant households are ~3x more likely to receive social assistance than natives at every education level, and draw larger amounts when they do.
Do immigrant households in Spain use more social assistance than natives?
Core argument: At every educational level, non-EU-origin households in Spain are almost three times as likely as native Spanish households to receive government social assistance, and average social assistance follows the same pattern.
Spain’s immigrants work less, earn less, pay less in taxes, and use more social assistance benefits. Maybe the nostrum that mass immigration is helping postpone the crisis of the European welfare state needs to be examined more carefully. Immigrant households are much more likely to utilize social program benefits than Spanish nationals, regardless of educational attainment. At every educational level, non-EU-origin households are almost three times as likely to be taking government social assistance as native Spaniards; so too average social assistance. Hardly less noteworthy: The incidence of social assistance, and average benefits per household, for high-education non-EU households (6%) is higher than for native Spanish households of all educational backgrounds (4.4%) even though most Spanish natives lack higher education.
Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI
At every educational level, non-EU-origin households in Spain are almost three times as likely as native Spanish households to receive government social assistance, and average social assistance follows the same pattern.
High-education non-EU households in Spain take social assistance at a 6% rate, above the 4.4% rate for native Spanish households of all educational backgrounds, even though most Spanish natives lack higher education.
Spain’s immigrants work less, earn less, pay less in taxes, and use more social assistance benefits, which invites closer examination of the claim that mass immigration is helping postpone the crisis of the European welfare state.
Related Articles:
Depopulation Globally and in the Asia-Pacific: The Shape of Things to Come— Population aging and fertility below replacement levels are connected to a revolution in family structure in which families grow smaller, fewer people marry, and voluntary childlessness becomes common across countries. As a result, families become less able to bear the demands that may be placed on them.
Quo Vadis, Hispania? Part One— Official Spanish data show births exceeded deaths by barely 200,000 over the first quarter of the 21st century—less than 0.5% of Spain's population at the start—while immigration accounted for 98% of the country's population growth, the largest increase of any European Union member. Deaths have exceeded births since 2015.
Quo Vadis Hispania? Part Two— Spain's first- and second-generation immigrant population totals at least 12mm—nearly 9.5mm immigrants and over 2.5mm descendants—out of a population of roughly 49mm. The authors estimate over a third of Spain's under-40 population and nearly two-fifths of children under 5 are immigrants or the children of immigrants.
AI Summary.U.S. survey data on high school students show the share of 9th graders identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual fell from 17% to 11% over two years, compared with a decline from 18% to 16% among 12th graders. The drop was concentrated among girls, from 27% to 22%, versus 9% to 7% among boys.
Jean TwengeGeneration Tech
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Among US high-school students, the LGB share fell btw 2023 to 2025 by 5pp for girls (27% to 22%), and 2pp for boys (9% to 7%). The preceding rise was likewise larger for girls: +128% from 2015 to 2021, versus +99% for boys to 2023.
Are younger teens less likely to identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual?
Core argument: The share of U.S. 9th graders identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual fell from 17% in 2023 to 11% in 2025 in the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, while 12th graders declined from 18% to 16%.
[New data from the Youth Risk Survey of U.S. 9th to 12th graders from the CDC shows] for 12th graders, 17 and 18 years old, identifying as LGB declines only a few percentage points between 2023 and 2025 (from 18% to 16%). But the headline result is for 9th graders (14 and 15 years old): Identifying as LGB absolutely plummets between 2023 and 2025, from 17% to 11%. That really does look like a free fall. The decline appears to be driven almost entirely by girls. Identifying as LGB dropped from 27% in 2023 to 22% in 2025 among girls, and from 9% to 7% among boys. [In terms of the share of high school students reporting engaging in same-sex activity] most high school students are not sexually active, so this is only a subsample of the larger group. For boys, there’s been a fairly steady rise in same-sex partners, not too different from the pattern of identifying as LGB among boys. The story is different for girls, where having non-heterosexual sex peaked in 2021 and then fell steeply.
Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI
The share of U.S. 9th graders identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual fell from 17% in 2023 to 11% in 2025 in the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, while 12th graders declined from 18% to 16%.
The decline appears driven almost entirely by girls, whose LGB identification fell from 27% in 2023 to 22% in 2025, compared with a drop from 9% to 7% among boys.
Among sexually active teens, the share of boys reporting at least one same-sex partner has risen fairly steadily, while for girls it peaked in 2021 and then fell steeply.
Related Articles:
Is There Really a Generational Difference in Identifying as Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual?— General Social Survey data show that increases among young American adults appear in same-sex sexual behavior as well as in identification, with 20% reporting a same-sex partner versus 18.5% identifying as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. The increases are larger among 27- to 41-year-olds.
Teens Used To Be Happier. What Changed?— The share of US high school seniors describing themselves as "very happy" peaked at 24.8% and remained around 24.4% before falling to 11.4% at its low, recovering only to 12.7%, well below the 17.9% recorded before the pandemic. The decline coincided with smartphones and social media becoming pervasive.
US College Students’ Well-Being— A study of US college students finds moderate-to-severe depression reported by 26% of students at one elite institution, 22% reporting moderate-to-severe anxiety and 10% contemplating suicide. Poorer mental health is associated with being female, little exercise, low grades, and financial aid; financial stress is associated with higher suicidal thoughts.
AI Summary.Posts across Chinese social media platforms including RedNote, Douyin and Weibo describe low wages, scarce jobs, falling property values and fear about the future, with some users turning hardship into dark humor or mocking official propaganda. The volume of pessimistic and sarcastic posts is striking given that China's internet censorship has grown more ruthless over the past decade.
Li YuanNew York Times
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Attitudes expressed on Chinese social media are increasingly negative. Given that the “censorship apparatus still controls the internet,” the increasingly negative online sentiment, much of it about “economic despair,” is “striking,” Li Yuan remarks.
Are Chinese social media users voicing growing economic pessimism despite censorship?
Core argument: Li Yuan reports that the first roughly 30 posts on her RedNote feed were nearly all about economic despair, many drawing hundreds or thousands of likes, with suggested searches including "Is there a future for employment in China?".
Across RedNote, Douyin, Weibo and other popular platforms, you can scroll endless posts about meager wages, scarce jobs, falling property values and fear about the future. Some turn their hardships into dark humor. Others hijack official posts and hashtags and turn propaganda into spectacles of mockery. China’s internet censorship has grown increasingly ruthless over the past decade. That makes the sheer volume of the pessimistic posts and sarcastic comments all the more striking. When [Li Yuan opened her] RedNote in recent weeks, [she] was surprised to find that the first 30 or so posts were nearly all about economic despair, many with hundreds or thousands of likes. The suggested searches could be even gloomier. “Is there a future for employment in China?” read one.
Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI
Li Yuan reports that the first roughly 30 posts on her RedNote feed were nearly all about economic despair, many drawing hundreds or thousands of likes, with suggested searches including "Is there a future for employment in China?".
Posts across RedNote, Douyin, Weibo and other Chinese platforms describe meager wages, scarce jobs, falling property values and fear about the future, with some users turning hardship into dark humor.
Chinese users hijack official posts and hashtags to turn propaganda into spectacles of mockery, a volume of pessimistic and sarcastic commentary made striking by censorship that has grown increasingly ruthless over the past decade.
Related Articles:
Record Graduate Influx Lifts China’s Youth Jobless Rate To 17.9% In July— China's jobless rate for 16-to-24-year-olds excluding students rose to 17.9% from 14.9% the prior month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, as a record wave of university graduates entered an already crowded labor market.
Chinese Student High-Flyers Set Sights On Police and Military Academies— High-achieving Chinese high school graduates are increasingly applying to police and military academies and other schools offering a clear path to public-sector jobs, pushing required entrance-exam scores up. Some programs now demand more than 650 points out of 750, rivaling the least competitive courses at China's most prestigious universities.
The Year of the Trojan Fire Horse: China’s Imbalanced Economy and Unrelenting Mercantilism— About 30% of Chinese industrial companies are unprofitable "zombies" kept alive by subsidies far larger than those elsewhere, rather than exiting amid falling industrial producer prices. Countries with large increases in manufactured imports from China also saw slowdowns in domestic manufacturing, including declining manufacturing shares of output across most of Southeast Asia.
AI Summary.Across surveyed countries, intended fertility and the ideal number of children both declined, while children came to be seen more as a constraint on parental freedom and less as a source of status. Gender roles grew less traditional and housework more equally shared, yet the belief that a fulfilled life requires children weakened most of all attitudes measured.
Raquel Fernández, Inés Berniell and Milagros OnofriNational Bureau of Economic Research
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Fernández et al. cast doubt on Goldin’s hypothesis that men’s limited willingness to share domestic responsibilities is central to fertility decline, pointing instead to the erosion of the belief that children are necessary for a fulfilling life.
Are shifting attitudes about children behind falling fertility intentions?
Core argument: Intended fertility fell in every Generations and Gender Survey country, from 28% to 21% on average, while the ideal number of children fell in 17 of 22 International Social Survey Programme countries, from 2.42 to 2.31.
Figure 1 documents how fertility outcomes and attitudes changed over the decade. Intended fertility fell in every GGS country, from 28 to 21% on average (Figure 1a). The ideal number of children fell in 17 of the 22 ISSP countries, from 2.42 to 2.31 on average (Figure 1b). [Children] became more likely to be seen as constraining parental freedom and less likely to be seen as conferring status (Figure 1c). Gender roles became less traditional, and the division of household work became more equal [Figures 1i]. Despite this greater sharing of chores and care, work–family conflict rose sharply. The decade saw changes that might have been expected to make the burden of children lighter, at least for women. Simultaneously, however, children became less attractive and, above all, less necessary: the belief that a fulfilled life requires children lost more ground than any attitude we measure [Table 2, Part II, Panel B].
Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI
Intended fertility fell in every Generations and Gender Survey country, from 28% to 21% on average, while the ideal number of children fell in 17 of 22 International Social Survey Programme countries, from 2.42 to 2.31.
Children became more likely to be seen as constraining parental freedom and less likely to be seen as conferring status, and the belief that a fulfilled life requires children lost more ground than any other attitude measured.
Gender roles became less traditional and household work was divided more equally, yet work–family conflict rose sharply.
Related Articles:
The Rise of Female Autonomy and the Decline of Fertility: The Role of Mismatch— Across 22 countries, the gap between women's and men's daily hours of housework and caregiving is strongly correlated with lower total fertility rates. Countries that modernized rapidly show larger gender gaps in home work and lower fertility than those with more continuous economic growth since 1920.
Babies and the Macroeconomy— Fertility rates have fallen in nearly every country, but timing differed: some developed nations fell below the 2.1 replacement level as early as the 1970s, while others dropped to "lowest low" levels below 1.3. The author argues nations with rapid, discontinuous growth saw sharper declines as women's expectations outpaced tradition-bound men's willingness to share family time.
The Demographic Future of Humanity: Facts and Consequences— The authors estimate the world total fertility rate is around 2.17, below the global replacement rate of roughly 2.21, meaning humanity is already below replacement, with fertility and births falling faster than anticipated. They project middle-income countries' fertility may fall below that of rich countries outside East Asia, with emigration compounding population decline.
AI Summary.A survey finds more than half of young men gamble, with 23% doing so daily, and 43% watch pornography daily or several times a week. 42% say the statement "I am inclined to think that I am a failure" describes them very or somewhat well, a view more common among daily gamblers (66%) and daily pornography viewers (63%).
Joseph Davis, Michael Toscano and Ken BurchfielInstitute For Family Studies
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An ISF survey of 2,000 American men aged 18–29 found 23% reported gambling daily and 27% watch pornography daily. 66% of the men who gambled daily reported feeling like a failure, as well as 63% of the men who watch pornography daily.
Do daily gambling and pornography use correlate with young men's self-perceived failure?
Core argument: More than half of young men surveyed gamble, with 23% gambling daily, 12% more than several times a week, and 21% at least some of the time.
More than half of young men in our survey are now gamblers. Nearly 1 in 4 (23%) report that they gamble daily, plus 12% doing so more than several times a week, and a further 21% at least some of the time. 43% of young men say they watch pornography daily (27%) or several times a week (16%), with another 26% about weekly or less. More than 4 in 10 young men (42%) believe that the statement “all in all, I am inclined to think that I am a failure” describes them “very well” (15%) or “somewhat well” (27%). Those who view pornography (63%) and gamble (66%) every day—along with day trading and playing fantasy sports—are significantly more inclined to see themselves as a failure.
Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI
More than half of young men surveyed gamble, with 23% gambling daily, 12% more than several times a week, and 21% at least some of the time.
43% of young men report watching pornography daily (27%) or several times a week (16%), and daily pornography viewers (63%) and daily gamblers (66%) are significantly more inclined to see themselves as failures.
Related Articles:
The Case for Prohibiting Vice— A record 62m Americans used marijuana in a single year, 17m of them daily or near daily, while half of American men now hold sports-betting accounts, up from almost zero seven years earlier. The author argues vice and addiction undermine citizens' capacity for free action, justifying state regulation beyond individual-harm criteria.
Americans Increasingly See Legal Sports Betting As A Bad Thing For Society and Sports— Survey data show 43% of U.S. adults say legalized sports betting is a bad thing for society, up from 34% three years earlier, and 40% say it is bad for sports, up from 33%. The largest shift came among men under 30, 47% of whom now call it bad for society versus 22% earlier.
Life Under Two: Debt, Deficits, and the AI Discontinuity— The United States averaged annual GDP growth above 3% for decades, but 2% or less is now more likely. Over ten years, the author estimates that gap amounts to a $3.36tn larger economy, $3.7tn more tax revenue, and 6m more jobs, shifting public psychology from abundance toward scarcity.
AI Summary.The narrowing gap in unemployment rates between young college graduates and non-graduates appears driven mainly by non-graduates dropping out of the labor force rather than by diplomas losing value, since people not seeking work aren't counted as unemployed. The share of young non-graduates employed is 1.7 percentage points below pre-pandemic levels.
Justin FoxBloomberg
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Labor force participation is rising for American college graduates aged 25–29, and is now at 89.4% – above its pre-pandemic level. Participation among non-college members of that age cohort is falling; at 78.7%, it is now below its pre-pandemic level.
Is the narrowing unemployment gap driven by non-graduates leaving the workforce?
Core argument: The employment-population ratio for young adults without college degrees is 1.7 percentage points below its pre-pandemic level and trending downward, while the ratio for young college graduates sits near its pre-pandemic level.
The narrowing of [the unemployment gap btw college and non-college workers] in recent years has lent support to narratives that college diplomas are losing their value amid the rise of large language models, the purported return of blue-collar work, and other job market changes. But while it may well be that diplomas have lost value, the recent shrinking of the young-adult education-unemployment gap seems to be driven mainly by a different phenomenon. Growing numbers of young adults without college degrees simply aren’t trying to find work and thus aren’t counted in unemployment calculations. The employment-population ratio for young college grads is not far off from where it was just before the pandemic and seems as if it might be headed upward again after a sharp drop in 2023 and 2024, for non-grads it is 1.7 percentage points lower than before the pandemic and clearly trending downward.
Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI
The employment-population ratio for young adults without college degrees is 1.7 percentage points below its pre-pandemic level and trending downward, while the ratio for young college graduates sits near its pre-pandemic level.
The narrowing unemployment gap between young college and non-college workers appears driven mainly by growing numbers of non-graduates who are not seeking work and therefore are not counted as unemployed.
The employment-population ratio for young college graduates fell sharply in 2023 and 2024 and appears as if it might be headed upward again.
Related Articles:
Labor Force Participation Is High If You Measure It Right— The headline labor force participation rate — the share of people 16 and older working or looking for work — is a limited gauge of labor market health because participation varies greatly by age. Aging baby boomers and the addition of nearly 1.7m Americans 65 and older to population estimates add distortion.
How Labor Force Participation Has Diverged Across Genders— Between 1976 and 2024 the trend labor force participation rate fell 10.1 percentage points for men and rose 8.2 points for women. Population aging lowered participation by about 4 points for each gender and rising education raised it (+6 for women, +3 for men), but the divergence is dominated by participation trends within age-gender groups.
AI, Immigration, and Collapsing Labor Force Participation— As labor force participation falls, a shrinking group of workers generates the income, taxes, and innovation supporting a growing number of non-workers, leaving the economy more fragile because labor shocks are concentrated among fewer participants. Labor scarcity raises the return on automation, robotics, and software, making growth depend on productivity rather than participation.
AI Summary.Israel is the only affluent democracy where estimated fertility rose over the past generation, from 2.9 births per woman in 1991 to 3 in 2021, driven by a rise in Jewish fertility from about 2.6 in 1995 to 3.1 in 2024. Excluding the Haredi community, fertility among secular, traditional and national-religious Jews averages about 2.5.
Nicholas Eberstadt and Patrick NorrickAmerican Enterprise Institute
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The rise in Israeli Jewish fertility is an exception to the collapse across advanced economies. TFR is 1.9 among secular Jews, 2.1–2.7 among traditional Jews and 3.7 among Dati Jews. Eberstadt suggests mimetics—social imitation—may help explain it.
Is there an affluent democracy where fertility has risen?
Core argument: Israel is the only affluent democracy where estimated total fertility rose over the past generation, edging up from 2.9 in 1991 to 3 in 2021, powered wholly by Jewish fertility rising from about 2.6 in 1995 to 3.1 in 2024.
[Israel is] the lone affluent democracy where national fertility (estimated TFR) actually rose over the past generation (albeit slightly—from 2.9 in 1991 to 3 in 2021). This was powered wholly by a rise in Jewish fertility, from about 2.6 births per woman in 1995 to 3.1 in 2024. In 2022–24 fertility in Israel was over 20% higher for Jews than Muslims. Much has been made of Israel’s extraordinarily prolific Haredi community and its six-plus-children-per-woman estimated TFR. But fertility for the rest of Israeli Jewry is unique for modernity too. For secular, natural-religious and traditional Jews combined, the current average TFR is about 2.5 births per woman. And for secular Israeli Jews, per se, it is almost two births per woman.
Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI
Israel is the only affluent democracy where estimated total fertility rose over the past generation, edging up from 2.9 in 1991 to 3 in 2021, powered wholly by Jewish fertility rising from about 2.6 in 1995 to 3.1 in 2024.
Israeli Jewish fertility in 2022–24 ran over 20% higher than Israeli Muslim fertility.
Beyond Israel's Haredi community, whose estimated TFR exceeds six children per woman, secular, natural-religious and traditional Jews combined average about 2.5 births per woman, with secular Israeli Jews alone at almost two.
Related Articles:
Terra Incognita: The Economics of a Shrinking World— Global fertility is likely below the replacement level needed to keep population constant in the long run, though population momentum from large cohorts of women now having children means world population will keep growing for roughly another 30 years. Unless trends change, it is projected to peak near 9bn around 2056 and then decline.
Depopulation Globally and in the Asia-Pacific: The Shape of Things to Come— Population aging and fertility below replacement levels are connected to a revolution in family structure in which families grow smaller, fewer people marry, and voluntary childlessness becomes common across countries. As a result, families become less able to bear the demands that may be placed on them.
AI Summary.A large survey found symptoms of cannabis use disorder rose to more than 9% of men and nearly 6% of women, up from about 7% and 5% three years earlier, as cannabis use increased among adults overall. About 30% of cannabis users showed disorder symptoms, versus under 20% of drinkers for alcohol.
Roni Caryn RabinNew York Times
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A study of 186,823 Americans found 26% of men and 21% of women reported using cannabis in 2024, up 4 and 3pp respectively from 2021; 9% of men and 6% of women reported symptoms of cannabis use disorder.
Is problem cannabis use rising as more Americans use the drug?
Core argument: More than 9% of men reported symptoms of cannabis use disorder in 2024, up from about 7% in 2021, while prevalence among women rose to nearly 6% from about 5%, according to a large study.
A growing number of Americans say their cannabis use is problematic, according to a large new study [which found] more than 9% of the men reported symptoms of cannabis use disorder in 2024, up from about 7% in 2021. The prevalence of cannabis use disorder also rose among women, increasing to nearly 6% in 2024, up from about 5% in 2021. Symptoms of the disorder include not being able to cut back or quit, or continuing to use the drug despite it leading to interpersonal problems. Overall, cannabis use rose among all adults during this time. In 2024, 26% of men reported using the drug, up from 22% in 2021. Among women, 21% said they used cannabis in 2024, up from nearly 18% in 2021. Of the survey participants who said they used cannabis, about 30% showed symptoms consistent with cannabis use disorder. Those findings suggested that those who used cannabis were at higher risk of developing problematic use than those who drank alcohol, as fewer than 20% of those who reported drinking in the survey showed symptoms of alcohol use disorder.
Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI
More than 9% of men reported symptoms of cannabis use disorder in 2024, up from about 7% in 2021, while prevalence among women rose to nearly 6% from about 5%, according to a large study.
Cannabis use rose among U.S. adults, with 26% of men reporting use in 2024 versus 22% in 2021, and 21% of women versus nearly 18%.
About 30% of survey participants who used cannabis showed symptoms consistent with cannabis use disorder, compared with fewer than 20% of those who reported drinking showing symptoms of alcohol use disorder, suggesting higher risk of problematic use.
Related Articles:
As America’s Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the Harms— An analysis of federal survey data estimates that about 18m US adults — nearly a third of adult cannabis users — report symptoms of cannabis use disorder, with roughly 3m considered addicted. Among those aged 18 to 25, the cannabis use disorder rate of 16.6% matches the alcohol use disorder rate of 15.1%.
Disconnected: The Growing Class Divide in American Civic Life— 17% of Americans report having no close friends, and survey data show a wide educational gap: 24% of those with a high school education or less have no close friends versus 10% of college graduates. Three decades ago, Americans with less formal education reported social circles at least as large.
The Case for Prohibiting Vice— A record 62m Americans used marijuana in a single year, 17m of them daily or near daily, while half of American men now hold sports-betting accounts, up from almost zero seven years earlier. The author argues vice and addiction undermine citizens' capacity for free action, justifying state regulation beyond individual-harm criteria.