Economy and Government

By Yinghan Du Professor Ana Regina Andrade is a Principal Senior Lecturer in Economics in the Department of Economics at Vanderbilt University. Her academic interest is developmental economics and the Latin American economy. Professor Andrade, and a team of graduate students, visited Argentina for an economic field trip in the spring of 2023. In the first part of this interview, she described the general economic history of Argentina and the status of this economy with an emphasis on the agricultural sector. Yinghan To begin with, could you please provide some general background information about the economic status of Latin America and opportunity in general?  Professor Andrade Well, Latin America would take much longer, but Argentina is facing a very daring time, b...

By Ron Ye (Image: Creative common license) It has been more than 10 months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Although it is uncertain when the war will end, it is certain that the amount of destruction is staggering. Russia has, in recent months, begun targeting Ukrainian infrastructure. In September, Russian missiles struck a dam that caused flooding in Kryvyi Rih, the 7th most populous city of Ukraine. Now, Ukraine faces a constant barrage of missiles from Russia that aims to take out their energy infrastructure. This is done in order to further increase the suffering of Ukrainians during the winter.  The Cost The cost to rebuild will be tremendous. In September, the World Bank claimed it would require $349 billion to rebuild Ukraine. Ukraine has suffered an ...

By Rohan Upadhyay Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest, following FTX’s bankruptcy, has disrupted Washington’s relationship with the cryptocurrency industry. Bankman, who pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, has lost allies in Washington as lobbyists have severed ties. This may affect lawmakers’ treatment of cryptocurrency.  This is significant because Bankman was a major lobbyist for cryptocurrencies, so the industry has lost a key figurehead. In the 2022 election cycle, the industry spent $73 million on donations to federal political candidates. Of this, FTX alone spent $72.1 million, of which Sam Bankman-Fried personally spent $39.9 million. Bankman alone gave 54.7% of the industry’s contributions.  The crypto industry is pushing for...

By Marvi Ali (Image: creative common license) Over the past few months, the Federal Reserve has steadily been raising the federal funds interest rate in an effort to combat inflation. The Federal Reserve, also known as the Fed, is the central bank and monetary authority of the United States. The Fed is tasked with the major responsibilities of conducting national monetary policy, supervising and regulating the banking system, and ensuring financial stability. Recently, the Fed announced a 0.75% increase to their interest rate on November 2, making this the sixth interest rate hike of the year. And, the Fed hasn’t been acting in isolation. The European Central Bank, the Fed’s counterpart in Europe, recently raised rates by 75 basis points to the highest level since 2009. ...

By Brian Zhao  (Image: creative common license) The Russian-Ukraine conflict has caused a number of supply chain disruptions in addition to obstructing the flow of goods, driving up product shortages, and creating severe food crises around the world. Even nickel, a relatively available commodity, has undergone unprecedented price changes.  In March 2022, the London Metal Exchange suspended nickel trading due to its wild fluctuations caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which sent the market surging well over the $100,000 per tonne mark. The drastic increase of this raw material could wreak havoc for several industries that nickel supply is important for, such as stainless steel, magnets and alloys, electronic devices, medical equipment, and energy and power generation. ...

By Edward Ding (image: iStock) For the South Korean bond market, 2022 has gone from bad to worse. Markets in Korea have been grappling with the same macro problems that have afflicted much of the world: high inflation, global recession fears, and monetary tightening have all converged to crimp corporate profits, breed uncertainty, and generally create a volatile financial environment. The Bank of Korea continues to follow the Fed in its regime of rapid rate hikes, a policy that has steadily pushed up borrowing costs in the local debt market. The uncertain macro environment has dampened investor demand, and issuers are finding it more difficult and expensive to access capital. This was all before the Legoland crisis. Korea’s first Legoland park opened in May of this year a...

By Sebastian Marrero Featured image: iStock  In this article, I will discuss a few of the many economic benefits that H-1B workers provide in strengthening the U.S. economy, additionally talking over past efforts that have been made to weaken or remove the program altogether. Finally, I will argue that increasing visa caps and changing the way the program chooses its recipients will form a safer, stronger, and more equitable visa program for skilled foreign workers. What is H-1B? Foreign workers form an integral part of the American economy. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, they comprise 17.4 percent of the labor force. For technical fields that require extensive experience and education, demand for highly specialized foreign labor among U.S. employers is con...

By: Claire Chen The U.S. Department of Labor’s August 2022 CPI report reveals that American consumers may finally see a respite in the inflationary processes that have contributed to a skyrocketing cost of living. The modest 0.1 percent increase in August’s CPI – still higher than expected, but consistent with July’s 0.0 percent increase and a dramatic reversal from June’s 1.3 percent increase – may explain the September 26 remarks expressed by Federal Reserve Chair of Boston Dr. Susan Collins, who states, “I think that it’s quite likely that inflation is near peaking and perhaps may have peaked already.” However, this measured outlook contrasts starkly with a media ecosystem that remains fixated on high prices. “Get ready for a food fight: High grocery costs are here to stay,” ...

By: Ron Ye Around the world, food is getting increasingly expensive. The war in Ukraine and COVID-19 are the main factors behind it. COVID-19 has led to supply issues, growing inflation, and labor shortages. This has caused a surge in food prices in 2021 as countries reopened and demand increased. Now, compounded with the war in Ukraine, the rise in food prices has become more noticeable. Russia is now closed off from trade due to sanctions and Ukraine is unable to keep up its food export due to the Russian invasion.  An Analysis The rise in food prices may not stop anytime soon. According to the USDA, the harvest for Ukrainian wheat planted last autumn begins in late June. This comprises a majority of the wheat from Ukraine. With the harvest not occurring until late Jun...