Feature Channels: Economics

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The Wall Street protesters are not united in their grievances, because there are many appropriate targets for their anger and many ideas about how to solve problems. Sure, there are odd ducks among them. But we make a grave mistake when we focus on the crazies to discredit the legitimate grievances of large groups of citizens, says David Cingranelli, professor of political science at Binghamton University.

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After a modest gain in September, consumer confidence among Floridians fell a point in October to 63, four points above the record low of 59 set in June 2008, according to a new University of Florida study.

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Despite an economy that seems to be growing at a boundless rate, China’s rise as an economic powerhouse has been carefully managed by its Communist leaders, says Roselyn Hsueh of Temple University.

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The recent conflict between Congress and President Barack Obama over raising the federal debt ceiling caused many economists and policymakers to fret that the financial markets would assess a higher risk premium on U.S. Treasury securities. However, a University of Arkansas finance study suggests that financial markets increasingly regard such controversies as political posturing rather than serious threats to the economy and therefore the conflicts have not recently caused higher default-risk premiums in the long-term.

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In theory, older people and people with higher levels of education should be more financially stable and have an easier time affording their homes. New research from the University of Iowa suggests that's not the case.

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Dr. E. Tylor Claggett Jr., associate professor of finance in Salisbury University’s Franklin P. Perdue School of Business, is available to speak on the pros and cons of the flat tax and how its implementation could impact the U.S. economy.

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It costs 8 percent more on average than it did two years ago for Washington residents to make ends meet, according to a new report from a University of Washington research group.

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As the Occupy Wall Street protest enters its fourth week, UC Riverside political science professor John W. Cioffi says the movement’s appearance should come as no surprise. At present, the occupation movement appears to endorse participatory democracy and rule by consensus, threatening to repeat the mistakes of the 1960s New Left and leave it among the long list of failed movements.

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Researchers warn of a looming health crisis in the wake of rising mortgage delinquencies and home foreclosures. The study is the first long-term survey of the impact the current housing crisis is having on older Americans. The study focused on adults over 50 and found high rates of depression among those behind in their mortgage payments and a higher likelihood of making unhealthy financial tradeoffs regarding food and needed prescription medications.

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Elections are great for democracies, but a new study by a University of Iowa researcher finds they may not be so good for business.

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The spread of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement to cities across the country has led to a national discussion on the role of corporations and brought the term "corporate personhood" to the fore in recent weeks.

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Kay E. Strong, Associate Professor of Economics at Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio writes, “The emergence of the 99% Movement is evidence of a healthy dynamic system in action... and the first visible populist challenge to the power and wealth distortions of the America’s "Big Men" since the 1960s."

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Professor Tom Sutton, Chair of the Department of Political Science at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio offer analysis of Occupy Wall Street, looking at parallels and differences with the Tea Party Movement.

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Katherine S. Newman, a sociologist at Johns Hopkins University and dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, is available to speak to reporters about how sales taxes, income taxes, and regressive tax plans impact American families of all income levels.

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Two Washington and Lee University economists leading a group of researchers have found that individuals who have suffered from long-term unemployment in the past year — those unemployed for longer than 25 weeks — are three times more likely than people employed throughout the past year to experience mental-health issues for the first time.

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Social Security recipients will receive a cost of living adjustment (COLA) of 3.6 percent beginning in 2012 — the first increase since 2009 — but it won’t go far enough, says Merton C. Bernstein, LLB, a nationally recognized expert on Social Security. “COLA is welcome but will not fully maintain beneficiary purchasing power,” says Bernstein, the Walter D. Coles Professor Emeritus at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. “The formula setting that rate does not meet fully the needs of Social Security recipients, especially when considering medical costs.”

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The Occupy Wall Street movement could offer a similar opportunity to left-wing politicians as the Tea Party movement did to the right, says a Vanderbilt University historian.

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University of Pennsylvania researchers found that homeowners in default or foreclosure showed an increase in mental health symptoms and physical symptoms.

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Persistent high poverty is most prevalent among children, with those living in rural America disproportionally impacted, according to researchers from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.

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The already complex nature of European management is further complicated by inter-country politics. Therefore, it's not surprising to see a small country like Slovakia in a position to scuttle the euro zone plan.

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Solomon W. Polachek, distinguished professor at Binghamton University, is available to discuss the reasons for the uptick in protest action – on Wall Street and around the globe. The reason? Economics.

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The Occupy Wall Street protest – and similar protests cropping up nationwide – are not spontaneous, according to Thomas Ratliff, sociology professor at Tennessee Tech University.

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Two University of Cincinnati researchers will present interdisciplinary research at a national conference on planning and development of communities.

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The angel investor market in the first two quarters of 2011 showed signs of stabilization since the 30 percent market correction in the second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009, with total investments totaling $8.9 billion, an increase of 4.7 percent over the same period in 2010, according to the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire.

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While previous research suggests that high unemployment results in election backlash for the incumbent party, current economic conditions have not translated into negative views of the future among African Americans and Latinos, says University of Arkansas political scientist Todd Shields.

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Transformative Consumer Research for Personal and Collective Well-Being, co-edited by David Mick, explores the pitfalls and promises of well-being in a modern consumer-based society.

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As the Occupy Wall Street protest movement gains momentum and recognition via mainstream media, Florida State University’s nationally regarded experts in communication and sociology are available to answer media questions and provide analysis.

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Iowa's State Housing Trust Fund is responding well to the demand for affordable housing in the state, according to an Iowa State University study. However, during the eight years of the program's existence, roughly 70,000 more Iowans tumbled into poverty, creating an affordable housing need that is unmet - and largely unknown.

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Bank of America’s plan to begin charging customers $5 a month for using its debit card has been met with resistance from citizens and members of Congress alike. In fact, there is some reputational capital at risk as a result of this kind of charge, says a banking expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Growing up in a poor neighborhood significantly reduces the chances that a child will graduate from high school, according to a study published in the October issue of the American Sociological Review. And, the longer a child lives in that kind of neighborhood, the more harmful the impact.

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Dr. Sam Sturgeon, director of research for Demographic Intelligence, finds that the ideal family size for Americans of childbearing age (18-46) rose to 2.66 in 2010, even as the U.S. total fertility rate fell to 1.91 children per woman in 2010. In 2007, the total fertility rate was 2.13.

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President Barack Obama is calling for a more modernized and concentrated hiring process in the federal government as more of its workers retire. While the government attracts many excellent candidates, the recruitment process remains bureaucratic, cumbersome and complex, leading many talented workers to be turned away. “The federal government is facing a war for talent and its competitors are winning,” says Jackson A. Nickerson, PhD, professor of strategy at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Energy industry claims of jobs created by the TransCanada Corporation Keystone XL Pipeline are inflated at best and misleading at the worst, according to a new report by Cornell University’s ILR Global Labor Institute. Corporation Keystone XL Pipeline are inflated at best and misleading at the worst, according to a new report by Cornell University's ILR Global Labor Institute.

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American University's Jordan Tama is an expert on congressional and independent commissions based on his extensive study of 30 years of data. Tama is available to discuss the potential pitfalls faced by the Congressional deficit-reduction committee a.k.a. the Super Committee.

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A paper by economists at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Cornell University College of Human Ecology points to the difficult policy trade-offs that the U.S. faces as it implements the health-care reform legislation approved in December 2009.

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According to the Federal Reserve, economic growth remains slow and signs point to continuing weakness. Unemployment rates remain elevated, and household spending has been increasing at only a modest pace. While this may affect your household budgeting, it could also work in your favor. Charles Lankau, a business professor and expert in negotiation at Wake Forest University, says in this economy, consumers should be assertive when shopping for just about everything.

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The Federal Reserve’s latest plan to prop up the sagging American economy, known as Operation Twist, won’t have a significant impact, says a finance expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Between 2009 and 2010, one million more children in America joined the ranks of those living in poverty, bringing the total to an estimated 15.7 million poor children in 2010, an increase of 2.6 million since the recession began in 2007, according to researchers from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.

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For many Alabamians, being poor has many more affects than lack of food and shelter.

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Beth Mattingly, director of research on vulnerable families at the Carsey Institute and research assistant professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire, will be available Sept. 22, 2011, to discuss the latest information on and trends about child poverty in America.

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Many companies struggle with how to use innovation and technology to grow their business. A new book by a Washington University in St. Louis business professor guides senior managers and executives in developing a straightforward and effective growth strategy.

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Chronic income worries and delayed marriage are behind a decades-long slump in home ownership among young people, according to a study by a University of Iowa economist.

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David Kautter most recently served as Ernst and Young’s director of national tax, and is keenly aware of how President Obama’s American Jobs Act’s proposed tax cuts/credits aimed at employers and extending payroll tax cuts further for employees will be met by the business community and on Capitol Hill.

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The estimates of the population without health insurance in the U.S. remained unchanged in 2010, as compared to 2009, reflecting the counteracting effects of not only the sluggish economic recovery but also the preliminary benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), says Timothy McBride, PhD, leading health economist and associate dean of public health at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Sandia National Laboratories generated nearly $1 billion in both direct and indirect economic output in the state of California in 2010 with nearly half coming from the San Francisco Bay Area, according to a new report prepared by the Center for Economic Development (CED) at California State University-Chico.

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s “Ponzi scheme” charge and Florida Sen. Mark Rubio’s assertion that Social Security is unsustainable recycle baseless attacks that go back as far as the 1930s, says Merton C. Bernstein, LLB, a nationally recognized expert on Social Security. “These are attempts to muster political support by appealing to long-held prejudices to satisfy those who never accepted Social Security,” Bernstein says. “To use them as guides to public policy would undermine our country’s most successful family protection program."

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Richard Burkhauser, professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University, will be a panel member at “Poverty and Income in 2010: A Look at the News Census Data and What the Numbers Mean” hosted by the Center for Children and Families Brookings Institute on Tuesday, Sept. 13, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in Washington, D.C.

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Findings from the Blair-Rockefeller Poll challenge long-held assumptions about the impact of the economy on political attitudes and voting behaviors.

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Source Alert: USC experts available as sources for the media on topics such as job creation, corporate taxation, inflation, global competition, and mortgage relief, and to comment on President Obama's speech on the economy scheduled for Thursday, September 8, 2011.

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The new regulatory banking standards called “Basel III” slightly decrease but do not eliminate systemic risk in the banking system, according to research at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Furthermore, the study suggests successful mortgage markets in Western Europe provide useful models for mortgage reform in the US. Because these healthier markets do not contain public lenders such as the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Professor Jaffee proposes the elimination of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a critical step toward healing the domestic economy.