Economics | Penn Today

remains of a neighborhood after a wildfire

Preparing for disasters in 2019: How can risks be mitigated?

Wharton’s Howard Kunreuther discusses how communities can better prepare for disasters in 2019.

silver bull and bear figurines on top of a newspaper stock market section

What’s ahead for the stock market in 2019

Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel examines the market outlook, Fed rate hikes, and the impact of the U.S.-China trade war.

Blockchain builds trust using math

The Wharton School’s Kevin Werbach was interviewed about his book “The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust.” For cryptocurrency to “mature and take hold,” said Werbach, it needs to integrate with existing financial systems by engaging with “law, regulation and governance.” Ironically, “those are the things that many of the early proponents of these cryptocurrencies thought they were running away from.”

Making sense of the war on Huawei

In an opinion piece, Wharton dean Geoffrey Garrett weighs in on the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Huawei, and argues it is only the beginning of what is clearly becoming the U.S. government’s war on the Chinese tech firm.

Coren Apicella and Corey Cusimano standing to the side as Geoff Goodwin speaks at a podium.

Social scientists trade academic silos for shared work space

Faculty and grad students in the new Social and Behavioral Sciences Initiative have access to two state-of-the-art labs, grants, and a collaborative environment aimed at creating a vibrant research community.

A split between the House and Senate isn’t the worst thing, says Jeremy Siegel

“A split congress isn’t the worst thing,” said the Wharton School’s Jeremy Siegel, discussing potential results of the midterm election. “Some of the greatest markets we had were during the Clinton administration.”

How dominant companies can be a drag on American economic growth

The School of Social Policy & Practice’s Ioana Marinescu discussed companies’ motivations to remain competitive in the face of decreased dynamism in the economy. “If there’s no real threat for someone else to come in,” she said, “the incentives to invest and innovate are blunted.”

Companies are paying less after the GOP tax cut, and it’s showing in the deficit

The Wharton School’s Jennifer Blouin weighed in on increased corporate tax cuts. In the case of companies with enough preexisting resources, Blouin said the money saved should be returned to shareholders who may reinvest it elsewhere, rather than being spent on risky business ventures.

As market concentration goes up, employees’ wages go down

Labor economist Ioana Marinescu discusses her research, which she presented to the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Prop. 5 offers tax breaks for older home buyers, but could shortchange schools and cities

The Wharton School’s Fernando Ferreira weighed in on California’s Proposition 5. “Right now, you’re giving a gigantic tax break to older homeowners who live in the best houses in the richest parts of the state,” Ferreira said. “This new proposition unfortunately will just perpetuate this inequality.”

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