Author Archive
Link: https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/amazon-health-care-telemedicine-federal-reserve-interest-rates-covid-relief-money-fafsa/
Amazon is beginning its own telemedicine system this summer, allowing participating companies to see a nurse or doctor remotely. This marks a shift in the healthcare industry, as it is predicted that close to 60% of doctor’s visits will be done remotely following the Covid-19 pandemic.
This podcast also discusses The Federal Reserve Bank’s decision to keep interest rates low, fewer numbers of students filing for federal student aid, and remote work in the automobile industry.
Original Air Date: March 18, 2021
Length: 9 minutes and 7 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2021/03/12/976465414/the-even-more-minimum-wage
This podcast discusses the history and the impact of low wages received by restaurant workers. The federal “tipped” minimum wage has remained stagnant for almost 30 years, while the standard minimum wage has been increased 5 times throughout that time. Policy makers in Washington DC are now proposing the Raise the Wage Act, which, if enacted, would raise the federal minimum wage incrementally to $15 an hour for all workers in all industries, including tipped workers.
Original Air Date: March 17, 2021
Length: 21 minutes and 22 seconds
Link: https://www.marketplace.org/shows/make-me-smart-with-kai-and-molly/where-does-the-money-for-stimulus-checks-come-from/
$1.86 trillion in relief spending has been authorized by congress, which will be financed by the sale of government bonds and other debt instruments. The Federal Reserve Bank will purchase many of these bonds which will cause an inflow of money into the economy. This podcast also elaborates on the inflationary implications of the stimulus checks entering the economy.
There is also discussion of Google’s market power and vaccination progress.
Discussion Prompt: What is the intended goal of the stimulus checks and what unintended consequences can arise as a result?
Original Air Date: March 17, 2021
Length: 19 minutes and 34 seconds
Link:https://www.npr.org/2020/10/21/926168583/hey-google-are-you-too-big
The Department of Justice has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google due to their alleged monopoly power over the online search and internet search ad market. The DOJ must prove in this case that Google has created this monopoly in a way that is harmful to consumers. If Google loses the case, this would allow for more competition within the market, even if the effects of this case are not seen right away.
Original Air Date: October 21, 2020
Length: 18 minutes
Link: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/world-vs-virus-podcast/
Behravesh, chief economist at IHS states that the uncertainty and fear associated with Covid-19 has been responsible globally for decreased consumption. Although Covid-19 cases in many countries are decreasing, the economic impact is expected to continue for at least another year.
Original Air Date: October 1, 2020
Length: 13 minutes
Discussion Post: Pretend you are a policy maker. If at all, how would you help different industries that are in need of relief because of the pandemic such as the hotel/hospitality industry?
Link: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/what-do-leaked-financial-documents-reveal-about-dirty-money-in-banking/
Despite national and global efforts to discourage money laundering, there were recent reports from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network suggest suspicious transactions and funding during the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. This podcast further discusses some of the failures of banks to report suspicious activities in a timely manner. Matthew Collins from the Brookings Institute states that if our government really wants to hammer down on money laundering and other financial crimes, it is crucial to invest more funds into regulatory bodies such as FinCen.
Original Air Date: September 24, 2020
Length: 12 minutes 20 seconds
Link: https://www.stlouisfed.org/timely-topics/educated-workers-and-americas-competitiveness
The United States used to lead the world in their percentage of college graduates. Today, the U.S is lagging behind countries like Japan and South Korea. Dr. Monge-Naranjo from the Federal Reserve Bank discusses how this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and how the United States can benefit from the ideas and technologies being produced elsewhere.
Original Air Date: August 31 2020
Length: 3 minutes 13 seconds
Discussion Prompt: What other ways can this idea benefit the United States? What ways could this be harmful to the United States? Is there any significance or advantage to being “number 1” in terms of college educated workers?
Link: https://macromusings.libsyn.com/shruti-rajagopalan-on-the-past-present-and-future-of-the-indian-economy
Rajagopalan, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center discusses the progress of India’s economy over the years. She compares the size of India’s economy compared the countries such as the U.S. and China, as well as how previous reforms have affected their economy and further reforms in their economy that could improve its development.
Original Air Date: October 19, 2020
Length: 1 hour, 6 minutes
Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/09/922479527/wfh-from-barbados
The economy in Barbados is heavily reliant on tourism and has been struggling due to travel restrictions. To combat the effects of the lack of tourism, Barbados created a program called “Welcome Stamp”, where individuals can receive a visa to work remotely while living in Barbados for a year.
Original Air Date: October 9, 2020
Length: 9 minutes 25 seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/13/923237556/how-vikings-launched-globalization-1-0
In the year 1000 Vikings were the first individuals from Europe to discover North America. Eventually, they discovered that indigenous individuals were already there and began exchanging goods with them. This is the first known example of a good from one area in the world was able to be traded for a good in another region. There is even evidence of some form of coin being exchanged between the two groups.
Original Air Date: October 13, 2020
Length: 9 minutes 55 seconds
audioecon 