Economic Good News

Stories about money and economics being used for good — and good being done for money and economies

This Speech Clinic (Literally) Helps Trans People Find Their Voice

Transgender people are at higher risk of experiencing violence, homelessness, and abuse, attributable to transmisogyny and transphobia in their communities. These risks increase exponentially at the intersection of race and gender.
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Ending Subsidies That Harm Nature Could Create Millions of Green Jobs, WWF Says

In a report, WWF examined the potential impact on employment of channeling into greener activities the annual $500 billion governments now put into damaging subsidies that support things like fossil fuels, over-fishing, and unsustainable agriculture.
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U.S. Climate Spending Could Help Rural Communities Embrace Green Shift

Steering billions of dollars in climate-related federal spending to rural parts of the United States would generate a substantial return on investment, researchers said Wednesday, urging policy-makers to seek regional equity in the clean energy transition.
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Nepal's First Locally Made Electric Motorbike Is Wooing Petrol Purists

An early entrant in the petrol-to-electric race, Nepal has tens of thousands of electrified cars, buses, and rickshaws on its roads but few motorcycles — the most popular form of transport in the Himalayan nation.
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How have women's lives in Afghanistan improved since 2001, from education and clothing to reproductive rights and political power?

Six Ways Life Has Changed for Afghan Women Since the Last Taliban Regime

How have women's lives in Afghanistan improved since 2001, from education and clothing to reproductive rights and political power? Here are six ways life has got better for women since the last Taliban government fell - gains now feared at risk.
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Women with baskets of flowers

This Indian Mining Community is Shifting From Coal to Forest Fruits and Flowers

For decades, mining has eaten into the forests of mineral-rich Chhattisgarh. But as the state moves away from opening coal mines, authorities have introduced measures to boost output of forest goods - from tamarind to cashew nuts and medicinal seeds.
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Rebel Eviction-Enforcers Are Helping Tenants Stay In Their Homes

In Tucson Arizona, a group of constables went rogue and stopped enforcing evictions at the beginning of the year.
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Bridge over water in Charleston

Charleston Will Pay People to Build Backyard Homes to Help Provide Affordable Housing

Cities and states have struggled to find ways to increase their inventory of low-cost housing over the last decade, and many have pursued policies that they hope will add density to areas zoned for single-family dwelling.
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Throwing caps into the air

Community Colleges Across the U.S. Are Leveraging Federal Coronavirus Relief Dollars to Forgive Student Debt

The money, available through both the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the more recent American Rescue Plan Act, allows eligible colleges to wipe out student debt and provides grants directly to students in need.
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Could 3D Printed Schools Be a Solution to Africa's Classroom Shortage?

Faster, cheaper and greener than regular construction, 3D printing could help African countries close their education gaps.
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Trees in Uganda

Uganda Is Helping Farmers Grow Trees for Money in Bid to Reverse Forest Loss

The country is curbing encroachment by paying farmers to grow trees for firewood and timber, but environmentalists say outside of plantations, the forest is still shrinking
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Two men looking at something on a wall

Forget No One: U.S. Cities Are Using Real-Time Data to End Homelessness

Fourteen communities working with the Built for Zero program have reached the point where homelessness for veterans or those experiencing chronic homelessness is rare overall, and brief when it occurs.
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