Nonrival

Expert analysis from think tanks and academia, on public policy, economics, and technology.
Human experts. AI summaries.

Managers Are Secretly Holding Back Their Best Employees — and It's Especially Hurting Women

microecon_insights

• A new study using personnel records and surveys at a 200,000-person manufacturing firm finds that three-quarters of managers admit to discouraging talented employees from pursuing opportunities elsewhere in the company — a behavior called "talent hoarding" — because their own bonuses depend on team performance.
• The effect is real and large: when managers are temporarily rotated off their teams, internal job applications spike 78%, and the workers who apply during those windows are far more qualified than average applicants and nearly twice as likely to get hired.
• Women are disproportionately harmed because they rely more on managers for career guidance and sponsorship; the study suggests talent hoarding is a meaningful driver of gender gaps in pay and promotion.

A Federal Judge Ruled That Congress Can't Bar Chinese Companies From Hiring Lobbyists

hoover

• A federal judge blocked a law that effectively prevented Alibaba, designated a 'Chinese military company,' from retaining lobbyists — because lobbying firms chose to drop Alibaba rather than risk losing lucrative Pentagon contracts.
• The court found the law likely violates the First Amendment's free speech and petition clauses, applying strict scrutiny because it burdened political speech based on the speaker's identity.
• The government failed to provide actual evidence of national security risks from the lobbying relationships it was restricting, and ignored less restrictive alternatives like disclosure requirements.

Reports of a Youth Religious Revival Are Premature, but the Data Is Genuinely Complicated

pew

• After decades of decline, American religiosity has stabilized since 2020, and church attendance is at its highest level since Pew started tracking it during the pandemic.
• The very youngest adults (18–22) attend religious services at unusually high rates, fueling talk of a revival — but slightly older young adults (23–26) are among the least religious Americans ever recorded, and there's no evidence any cohort has actually become more religious over time.
• The gender gap in religiosity is narrowing, and for the first time young men are attending services more than young women — but young women are also relatively observant, so the story isn't simply about conservative men finding religion.

In the News

Trump voters have soured on his presidency, and the 2026 midterms will show it

the_conversation

• A new Michigan State survey finds 70% of Americans believe the country is in decline — matching a 2023 high, after dipping to 55% when Trump won in 2025, suggesting his core supporters have lost their post-election optimism.
• Nearly half of Americans (47%) now report serious financial hardship from rising prices, up sharply from 27% in 2023, with young adults and people of color hit hardest.
• Healthcare surged to the #2 concern among voters, up 10 points since 2025, likely reflecting insurance losses, hospital closures, and rising costs under recent policy changes.

Analysis

Who Builds It Shapes Who Benefits: Male-Dominated Tech Is Raising Women's Cost of Living

aea

• Economists find that innovators disproportionately create products used by people like themselves — women-founded startups produce apps used significantly more by women, and vice versa.
• Because women are underrepresented among innovators, fewer products are tailored to women's needs and tastes.
• The researchers estimate this gap raises women's effective cost of living by nearly 19 percent relative to men's — a hidden inequality almost as large as the gender pay gap itself.

Also Worth a Look

• Immigration Raids Don't Just Hurt Immigrants — They Depress Local Economies for Everyone (wharton)
• Voters Heading Into the 2026 Midterms Care Most About the Economy, Healthcare, and Iran — but Democrats and Republicans Barely Agree on Anything (gallup)
• King Charles Is Touring the Caribbean With No Plans to Apologize for Slavery — and His Throne There May Depend on It (the_conversation)
• AI Data Centers Are Being Built Next to Homes, and Residents Are Starting to Fight Back (think_global_health)
• Democrats Are More Fired Up Than Republicans Ahead of the 2026 Midterms — and History Says That Matters (gallup)
• Abortion Bans Are Quietly Raising Women's Health Insurance Costs (econofact)
• A Delaware Court Found That Deleted Signal Chats and One-Sided AI Prompts Torpedoed a Corporate Board's Credibility (harvard_corpgov)