The coronavirus pandemic disrupted the U.S. economy, yet the dynamics of micro-level consumer spending among low-income populations are not well understood. A study published in PLOS One by Song Gao at University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States and colleagues suggests the stimulus program largely curbed the post-lockdown spending declines and stimulated spending following pandemic-related income loss by...
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The Women Who Appear in Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ Are Finally Getting Their Due, 700 Years Later
When Dante Alighieri died 700 years ago, on Sept. 14, 1321, he had just put his final flourishes on the “Divine Comedy,” a monumental poem that would inspire readers for centuries. The “Divine Comedy” follows the journey of a pilgrim across the three realms of the Christian afterlife – hell, purgatory and paradise. There, he...
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‘Get Out Now’ – Inside the White House on 9/11, According to the Staffers Who Were There
On Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, I anticipated a busy but relatively calm day at the White House. I was the special assistant to the president for management and administration, and President George W. Bush was in Sarasota, Florida, promoting the No Child Left Behind legislation. The senior official in the White House was Vice President...
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Removing Urban Highways Can Improve Neighborhoods Blighted by Decades of Racist Policies
The US$1.2 trillion infrastructure bill now moving through Congress will bring money to cities for much-needed investments in roads, bridges, public transit networks, water infrastructure, electric power grids, broadband networks and traffic safety. We believe that more of this money should also fund the dismantling of racist infrastructure. Many urban highways built in the 1950s...
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How Someone Becomes a Torturer
Every day, thousands of people are tortured in police stations, security offices and prisons around the world. Human rights organizations protest torture and advocate for survivors, but neither they nor the public knows much about the torturers themselves. Where do torturers come from? How can they do such terrible things? And most important, is there...
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20 Years of ‘Forever’ Wars Have Left a Toll on Us Veterans Returning to the Question: ‘Did You Kill?’
Military service members returning from America’s “forever” wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have often faced deeply personal questions about their experience. As one veteran explained to me: “I’ve been asked, ‘Have you ever killed anyone in war? Are you messed up at all?’” “I don’t take offense to any of that because I realize, we...
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Microeconomics Explains Why People Can Never Have Enough of What They Want and How That Influences Policies
Economics is broadly divided into macroeconomics and microeconomics. The big picture, macroeconomics, concentrates on the behavior of a national or a regional economy as a whole: the totals of goods and services, unemployment and prices. Then there’s a more detailed picture: the economic decisions that people and businesses make. Microeconomics analyzes behavior. It looks at...
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Data Privacy Laws in the U.S. Protect Profit but Prevent Sharing Data for Public Good – People Want the Opposite
In 2021, an investigation revealed that home loan algorithms systematically discriminate against qualified minority applicants. Unfortunately, stories of dubious profit-driven data uses like this are all too common. Meanwhile, laws often impede nonprofits and public health agencies from using similar data – like credit and financial data – to alleviate inequities or improve people’s well-being....
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How Hood River Watershed Can Become More Resilient to Climate Change
Hood River, long an agricultural center for Oregon, faces an uncertain future of climate impacts, but a new Portland State University study lays out strategies that the watershed can adapt to become more resilient to the inevitable changes. Glaciers are receding and snowpack levels are peaking earlier and declining faster, meaning farmers will lose water...
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Covid-19 Hit Indiana Black and Rural Communities Harder Than Other Populations
In the largest study of its kind to date, Black communities and rural residents were hit harder than other populations by the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrated by data from across the state of Indiana. Researchers at Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University say this information highlights important disparities that need to be addressed by public health efforts. “This large-scale study shows that racial and ethnic minorities as well...
