Business

Weekend Edition Sunday is beginning a series of conversations with economists, asking them to explain their positions and what they think ought to be done to improve the economy. Guest host Linda Wertheimer talks to Greg Mankiw, former chairman of the Council of Economic advisers under President George W. Bush. He's also an informal adviser to the Romney campaign.

Two Swedish economists have studied the survival data from shipwrecks over the last three centuries and found that women are less likely to survive than men. Guest host Linda Wertheimer has more.

Transcript

SUSAN STAMBERG, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Susan Stamberg in for Scott Simon. In an encouraging sign for the U.S. economy, the Labor Department told us yesterday that the country gained 163,000 jobs in July. That was better than expected but not all signs are pointing up. In a separate government survey, the unemployment rate increased slightly to 8.3 percent. NPR's Chris Arnold is at a gathering of economists in northern Maine. He sent this report.