How will Heat Affect Economic Activity in the Rich Urban Tropics?

May 2025

Heat affects billions of people worldwide. In a recent study, Fesselmeyer, Liu, Salvo, and Simorangkir (2024) analyze how ambient heat influences economic activity in Singapore, a prosperous tropical city-state, offering novel insights into both heat’s direct effects and the mechanisms of urban adaptation.

How Does Automation Affect Worker Productivity?

Oct 2025

Automation continues to reshape the workforce, but how does it specifically impact productivity through specialization? In a field experiment conducted by Jie Gong and I.P.L. Png (2024), supermarket cashiers in Singapore were studied to understand the effects of automation on task specialization and productivity.