The Atlantic

The Best Business Reads of July

The month’s most interesting stories about money and economics from around the web
Source: Eric Thayer / Reuters

Each month, the editors of The Atlantic’s Business Channel share the most interesting pieces of journalism about money and economics from around the web.

This month’s picks include an investigation of Google’s influence on academic research; the ongoing tension between working Americans and those without jobs; extreme commutes; and a look at Texas as a proxy for America’s future in everything from voting to tax treatment to corporate power.

If you’ve missed previous roundups, you can find recent ones here and here.


Paying Professors: Inside Google’s Academic Influence Campaign

Brody Mullins and Jack Nicas | The Wall Street Journal

Over the past decade, Google has helped finance hundreds of research papers to defend against regulatory challenges of its market dominance, paying $5,000 to $400,000 for the work, The Wall Street Journal found.

Some researchers share their papers before publication and in public-records requests of more than a dozen university professors. The professors don’t always reveal Google’s backing in their research, and few disclosed the financial ties in subsequent articles on the same or similar topics, the

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