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How to help the poor amid COVID-19? Give them money, says Nobel laureate Esther Duflo

Apr 9, 2020
If a segment of the population stops buying things, it could lead to a much larger economic crisis, Duflo warned.
Nobel laureate Esther Duflo points to direct cash transfers in coronavirus response.
Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images

Stiglitz: How the U.S. economy recovers from COVID-19 hinges on Americans' debt

Apr 2, 2020
"For those businesses that are getting so much help from the government, part of that should be used to help the debtors," said Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz.
"What we need right now is a stay to make sure that people can pay by postponing it until the economy is running again," economist Joseph Stiglitz says of credit card debt.
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How a debt jubilee could help the U.S. avert economic depression

Apr 2, 2020
One economist believes hope of avoiding a COVID-19 economic depression lies in full forgiveness of personal debts.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A way to save both lives and the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Nobel laureate and NYU professor Paul Romer says there's a path forward that limits the spread of the virus while letting most people get back to work over time.
"If we spent $100 billion right now, on protective gear and testing, we wouldn't be faced with a choice of let hundreds of thousands of people die or kill the economy," Nobel Prize-winner Paul Romer says.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

The economics behind why toilet paper is sold out

Mar 19, 2020
Coronavirus household shortages, explained.
Raising prices might curb panic-buying, but it’s also price gouging.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

Is health care a "private good" or a "public good" during a pandemic?

Mar 13, 2020
Dan Mendelson, founder of healthcare advisory consultancy Avalere Health, argues that healthcare is a legitimate public good in times of pandemics.
A sign directing visitors to the fever clinic is pictured at the entrance to the Gold Coast University Hospital in Australia.
Patrick Hamilton/AFP via Getty Images
"Pirate articles," or contracts that stipulated compensation, were sort of like worker cooperatives of their time.
Bruce Miller/AFP/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

"Scarcity" and why we don't have a 15-hour workweek

Feb 27, 2020
Boston College professor Juliet Schor explains why the U.S. has never had anything close to a 15-hour workweek.
English economist John Maynard Keynes, center, thought his grandchildren would be working 15-hour workweeks.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Keeping up with the Joneses is expensive

Feb 27, 2020
We're working more than we really need to.
The arms race over consumption is what drives people in wealthy countries to work more than they really need to.
Preston C. Mack/Getty Images

What the Beatles taught us about tax policy

Feb 20, 2020
The Fab Four were saying something about British public policy with the lyrics, "There's one for you / Nineteen for me."
The Beatles pose at the BBC Television Studios in London before the start of their world tour in 1966.
Central Press/Getty Images