Archive for the ‘macroeconomics’ Category
Link: https://www.npr.org/2022/04/15/1093113723/the-student-loan-paaaaauuuuuse
For some, the student loan repayment pause that started in 2020 has allowed people to purchase houses, cars, and have babies. Most student loan borrowers have not made any payment towards their loans because there is no incentive to; especially with the Biden Administration promising $10,000 of loan forgiveness. If loan repayments were to resume it could be detrimental to those that are not prepared to start making those payments again.
Original Air Date: April 15, 2022
Length: 22 Minutes 44 Seconds
Discussion Prompt: What do you think the macroeconomic consequences would be if the government resumed loan payments?
Link: https://www.aeaweb.org/research/school-spending-student-outcomes-wisconsin
In this AEA Research Highlights podcast Author Jason Baron discusses the effects of different types of school spending on student outcomes and how school budgets should continue to evolve. Baron’s finds that increased spending on teacher salaries and supportive services positively affected test scores, dropout rates, and postsecondary enrollment, while spending on new buildings and renovations had less of an impact.
Original Air Date: February 18, 2022
Length: 22 Minutes 14 Seconds
Article Citation: Baron, E Jason. 2022. “School Spending and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Revenue Limit Elections in Wisconsin.” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 14 (1): 1-39.
Link: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/in-the-1890s-the-best-selling-car-was-electric/
Today, fewer than 1% of cars in the United States are electric. According to technology historian Tom Standage, the spike in gas prices may push the transition faster than people think. When switching from gas to electric cars, there is more to consider than just the labor market and the demand for gasoline. Standage believes everything will change.
Original Air Date: March 30, 2022
Length: 46 Minutes 20 Seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2022/03/23/1088346603/two-inflation-indicators-corporate-greed-and-mortgage-rates
Prices are still rising even though corporate profits are at a 40-year high. However, the rising inflation is not thought to be due to corporate greed but likely to other causes such as lingering pandemic issues and decreased competition in the markets. The Federal Reserve Bank has tried to fight this inflation by raising interest rates which will hopefully lead to less pressure on businesses to raise their prices.
Original Air Date: March 23, 2022
Length: 18 Minutes 27 Seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/2021/11/16/1056299014/of-boats-and-boxes
California Ports were not prepared for the consumer purchasing patterns shift from the pandemic. Instead of vacations, families were buying a new refrigerator or couch. This unpredictable increase in demand combined with the ports’ fragile system caused a supply chain issue that is still affecting America today.
Original Air Date: November 17, 2021
Length: 24 Minutes 55 Seconds
Link: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2022/02/08/1078035048/price-controls-black-markets-and-skimpflation-the-wwii-battle-against-inflation
During World War II, when inflation was very high, the United States government took many different actions to fight it including implementing an income tax, rationing, and price ceilings. Today we have the Federal Reserve which means we will hopefully not have to resort to these drastic measures to fix inflation ever again.
Original Air Date: February 8, 2022
Length: 23 Minutes 24 Seconds
Economists Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson discuss insurance and risk and how it is related to economics.
Original Air Date: August 26, 2020
Length: 27 Minutes 27 Seconds
Link: https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/six-hundred-atlantic/season/two/bonus-episode-a-conversation-about-child-care-in-crisis.aspx
Even before the pandemic, childcare has been inaccessible and too expensive for families. Experts Beth Mattingly and Tom Weber discuss the childcare crisis and the impact it has on parents, the labor force, and the economy.
Original Air Date: October 29, 2021
Length: 26 Minutes 19 Seconds
Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ezra-klein-show/id1548604447?i=1000540488241
Federal student loan interest and payments are set to resume after January for about 45 million Americans who carry an astounding $1.8 trillion in student debt. Louise Seamster, a sociologist at the University of Iowa, discusses wealth disparities between black and white borrowers and how student debt shapes the lives of young people. Seamster also considers solutions to the student debt crisis, one of which includes debt cancellation.
Original Air Date: November 2, 2021
Length: 58 Minutes 11 Seconds
Link: https://www.aeaweb.org/research/electric-transition-banning-gasoline-vehicles
Norway, the United Kingdom, California and many other places worldwide plan to ban the sale of gasoline cars within the next 10-15 years. Economist Stephen P. Holland discusses the implications of a simple ban, and instead encourages policies that will incentivize car manufactures to decrease production of gas cars without devastating the economy.
Citation: Holland, Stephen P., Erin T. Mansur, and Andrew J. Yates. 2021. “The Electric Vehicle Transition and the Economics of Banning Gasoline Vehicles.” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 13 (3): 316-44. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200120
Original Air Date: September 29, 2021
Length: 21 minutes 32 seconds
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