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Economics

Good vaccine news and a flurry of stock sales by executives. There’s a pattern, study finds

Good vaccine news and a flurry of stock sales by executives. There’s a pattern, study finds

Daniel Taylor of the Wharton School said it’s rare for corporate executives to cash out their stocks prior to releasing a highly anticipated product, as the CEOs of Pfizer and Moderna did last month. “They’re selling a vaccine that people are already skeptical of,” Taylor said. “There is a point when the actions of the executives will affect what people think of the vaccines themselves.”

A new vision for the Population Aging Research Center
Two older adults walking outside, wearing cold-weather gear, walking arm in arm across a bridge, trees in the background.

A new vision for the Population Aging Research Center

For more than 25 years, PARC has been a hub for work on disparities in aging and mortality. Co-directors Hans-Peter Kohler and Norma Coe, who took over in July, want to expand its reach.

Michele W. Berger

‘Just a start’

‘Just a start’

Sylvain Catherine of the Wharton School and a University of Chicago colleague argued that “untargeted” student debt forgiveness wouldn’t do much to benefit low-income earners. “Households in the top 30% of the earnings distribution receive almost half of all dollars forgiven,” they wrote.

Black borrowers are hit hardest by the student debt crisis
Crowd of graduates wearing mortarboards walking in procession at commencement.

Black borrowers are hit hardest by the student debt crisis

Released by the NAACP, a report by Penn GSE’s Jalil Mustaffa Bishop argues for the cancellation of student debt and reinvesting in institutions that serve the most Black students.

From Penn GSE

Inside the pandemic’s health provider financial crisis
Health care personnel in full PPE rubbing their gloved hands.

Inside the pandemic’s health provider financial crisis

In an LDI virtual seminar, experts from top hospital, health center, and primary care positions detailed the fiscal disruption and uncertain future created by the COVID crisis.

Hoag Levins

The quiet architect of Biden’s plan to rescue the economy

The quiet architect of Biden’s plan to rescue the economy

Rich Prisinzano of the Penn Wharton Budget Model said economist Ben Harris’ experience with budget models has helped him develop tax plans for a Biden administration that would raise revenue without relying on wealth taxes. “They tax the same people and the same income as Warren and Sanders, they just do it through the existing tax code,” Prisinzano said.

A Hoover study claiming Biden would harm the economy has critics

A Hoover study claiming Biden would harm the economy has critics

Richard Prisinzano of the Penn Wharton Budget Model said a study from the Hoover Institution attributes post-2026 tax increases to Joseph Biden, when in actuality the increases are already a part of existing laws. “I’m trying not to be overly partisan, but I think they’ve put their thumb on the scale in that way,” he said.

Disaster relief: Why the poor need higher priority
A house destroyed by Hurricane Katrina flooding in New Orleans.

Disaster relief: Why the poor need higher priority

Wharton’s Carolyn Kousky discusses why low-income families struggle most following disasters, and outlines how to simplify receiving aid that truly helps.

From Knowledge at Wharton