Coronavirus presents economic challenges as well as adverse consequences for public health. Interruptions to regular business activity through people sheltering at home, limiting both the supply of workers and the demand for goods and services, coupled with panic in financial markets, almost certainly
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The coronavirus has, in a matter of weeks, had a profound impact on the world economy. The economic impacts stem both from the direct effect of those who fall ill and from the measures taken to contain or slow the progression of the pandemic. These effects, operating through both domestic and global
...What would be the distributional effects of a carbon tax? Gilbert Metcalf (Tufts) and Michael Klein, Executive Editor of EconoFact discuss new research which shows that, faced with a carbon tax, companies are unlikely to pass the resulting cost increases entirely
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The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the United States Government Budget deficit will be $1 trillion in 2020, which would represent 4.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This would be more than a 40 percent increase in the budget deficit as a percent of GDP from 2016 when the $587
...Inflation has gone from being a threat to the economy because it was too high in the 1970s, to being a source of concern today because it is too low. Since 2012, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been persistently unable to lift inflation to reach its 2% target. Why
...Politicians often advocate for tariffs in an effort to protect jobs in a particular industry, such as those of steel workers. But positive employment effects are frequently muted, and can be outweighed by job losses -- for instance at companies that use steel as
...Government programs face budget constraints. If government spending goes up, then either taxes or government borrowing will have to increase. And, what the government borrows, it will have to repay at some later date. In this video, Michael Klein, Executive Editor
...A primary concern raised when one firm dominates a market is that consumers will face higher prices and fewer choices. Yet the existence of big firms at the national level does not necessarily mean that there will be less competition at the local level. Some of
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