Economics | Penn Today

Aerial view of several blocks of rowhouses in Philadelphia.

A fair housing law proposal to promote racial and economic integration

A research brief co-authored by Provost Wendell Pritchett proposes the use of fair housing law to work toward the end of segregation, and emphasize that the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing provision of the Fair Housing Act extends to all federal agencies.

What happened to the $45 billion in rent relief?

Vincent Reina of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design spoke about the challenges some cities have faced in distributing rent-relief funds. “It seems clear that the places that have really committed themselves to analyzing how things are going as they are going and making course corrections along the way have been most able to get dollars out the door,” he said.

People on a commuter vehicle with face-coverings on

Q&A

Wharton professor discusses the economics of racism

Bernard E. Anderson, the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Professor Emeritus at the Wharton School, discusses how racism hurts the economy and affects all Americans.

When no landlord will rent to you, where do you go?

Lisa Servon of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design spoke about the significance of credit scores, first introduced in 1989, in the U.S. “It’s a number that went from being nonexistent to being a gatekeeper to getting housing,” she said.

Three masked nurses in scrubs and one masked doctor standing in a line smiling and clapping.

Minimum nurse-to-patient ratios policy saves lives and lowers costs

A new study shows that a policy establishing minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in hospitals saves lives, prevents readmissions, shortens hospital stays, and reduces costs.

When should pandemic benefits end if there’s no neat end to the pandemic?

Robert Hughes of the Wharton School spoke about the hazards of prematurely ending restrictions on evictions. “About 40% of households can’t pay a $400 emergency without going into debt,” he said. “And if we end up with a lot of people homeless, that’s a crisis.”

Rows of houses with corrugated metal roofs are interspersed with trees. A mountain range is in the background

India’s COVID crisis

Political scientist Tariq Thachil of the School of Arts & Sciences and economist and public health expert Harsha Thirumurthy of the Perelman School of Medicine take a look at what’s happening in India with the pandemic's second wave and what can be done to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Biden’s sweeping—and fluid—tax plans are making some congressional Democrats nervous

According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, the Biden administration’s proposed American Families Plan would cost $700 billion more than the White House estimated and bring in $500 billion less in new revenue.

Illustration depicting basic needs like food, shelter, transportation, and dollar signs.

Fighting poverty with cash

Amy Castro Baker has helped deliver promising data out of Stockton, California, about the effects of giving people no-strings-attached money every month. Now boosted by a new research center at Penn that she’ll colead, more cities are jumping on board.

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander in her graduation dress in 1921.

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander: The first of many firsts

Despite encountering racism, sexism, and bigotry to get her Penn education, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander became the first Black woman in the U.S. to get her Ph.D. in economics, and was one of the first three Black women to get a doctorate in any subject.

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