Businesses have found that it can pay off to engage in social stewardship, such as donating to charity, protecting the environment and nurturing a diverse and safe workplace.

Cities initially more specialized in older technologies may have had more difficulty adapting to newer technologies because skills in initially dominant industries were not useful to new industries.

Before the current recession, soaring stock prices and housing values made many Americans feel well off, and thus many were lax in saving for retirement. The current financial market downturn has erased much of the previous gains, leaving many workers unprepared for retirement.

Better-educated people appear to be in better health than less-educated people. But does more education cause better health, or are there other factors at play – such as income and access to information?

Mortality rates no longer rise sharply in recessions.