Theo Wayt

Senior Reporter, Business & Economics and Social Sciences

Theo Wayt, based in New Orleans, is the senior reporter for Business & Economics and Social Sciences for The Academic Times. He has also reported for the Associated Press, NBC News, the New York Post, Vice, Gothamist and Business Insider, covering topics like finance, politics and labor. He graduated from New York University in 2020.

Closing schools in the California Bay Area greatly limited the spread of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Closing schools in the California Bay Area greatly limited the spread of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)School closures early in the COVID-19 pandemic cut the projected number of coronavirus infections in the San Francisco Bay Area in half, but schools can reopen safely if they follow a series of safety precautions, according to computer modeling work by University of California, Berkeley researchers.

Legalizing medical marijuana doesn't result in more teens getting high. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Legalizing medical marijuana doesn't result in more teens getting high. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)Legalizing medical marijuana has either decreased or had no effect on teenage cannabis use, and initial evidence suggests that recreational legalization has similar effects, according to a new comprehensive review of studies on the topic.

Giving workers the option to defer receiving some of their wages increases overall savings and helps workers better plan for lump-sum purchases, such as home improvements, according to new research that upends the common economic assumption that workers always prefer to be paid early.

Improving internet access in rural areas can improve the economy in those areas. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Improving internet access in rural areas can improve the economy in those areas. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)Expanding internet access in rural areas can reduce poverty and increase access to public services such as health care and education, according to a new study using data from Mexico that, researchers say, shows the internet should be treated as a human right.

Despite wide coverage of the #MeToo movement and many scandals, sexist attitudes in the U.S. haven't changed. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Despite wide coverage of the #MeToo movement and many scandals, sexist attitudes in the U.S. haven't changed. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)Conversations around sexual assault, harassment and discrimination against women sparked by the #MeToo movement did nothing to change the pervasiveness of sexist attitudes among the American public, according to new research based on extensive surveys.

Medicare and Medicaid are letting those making just barely enough fall through the cracks. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Medicare and Medicaid are letting those making just barely enough fall through the cracks. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)Americans who receive Medicare but make slightly too much money to qualify for supplemental coverage from Medicaid spend thousands more dollars on out-of-pocket medical expenses while receiving fewer outpatient services and prescriptions than people covered by both programs, according to new research published Monday.

A new study says shelter-in-place orders didn't help stop the spread of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A new study says shelter-in-place orders didn't help stop the spread of COVID-19. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)Shelter-in-place orders in the U.S. did not significantly reduce coronavirus cases or deaths during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from the University of Chicago have found, contradicting at least two previous studies.

Background checks hit a new record nationwide in 2020. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Background checks hit a new record nationwide in 2020. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)A record number of background checks for firearm sales were conducted in 2020 -- and unlike most previous surges of gun-buying, the checks were just as concentrated in Democratic states as Republican ones, according to new research.

Researchers from universities including Stanford and Harvard have published new evidence that the order in which candidates are listed on ballots can change how people vote — and the effect is so strong that they claim it likely would have changed the outcomes of presidential elections in 2000 and 2016.

Where are we clearing land, and what are we using it for? (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Where are we clearing land, and what are we using it for? (AP Photo/Andre Penner)The amount of South American land impacted by humans skyrocketed 60% from 1985 to 2018, and an area the size of Spain has been cleared by humans but is not being used for any discernible economic purpose, according to new research using satellite images and machine learning technology.

A four-day workweek might not just be a dream sometime soon. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
A four-day workweek might not just be a dream sometime soon. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)Proponents of the four-day workweek scored a victory earlier this year when the Spanish government revealed plans to fund a trial of the long-debated policy as soon as this fall.

Fossil fuel stocks are doing better under Biden than Trump. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Fossil fuel stocks are doing better under Biden than Trump. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)Donald Trump's election and decision to remove the U.S. from the Paris Agreement both paradoxically led to significantly lower share prices for oil and gas companies, according to new research in a leading financial journal, while Joe Biden's presidency has so far been great for fossil fuel stocks.