Category: Commentary

Commentary

LONG-FORM COMMENTARY: The Mixed Impacts of a $15 Minimum Wage and Exploring Alternatives

Karthick Arunachalam

Kyle Feinstein, Stanford University -- Raising the national minimum wage by 107% to $15 per hour would increase the wages of many jobs, particularly in rural communities where some employers have monopsony power. However, a minimum wage of $15 per hour would also contribute to unemployment, widen disparities in the labor market, and reduce the hours worked for small businesses. Because of these effects, it may be necessary to consider the alternative policies of setting the minimum wage as a percentage of a city’s average cost of living and expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit to assist low-income earners.

Commentary

COMMENTARY: New Crisis, New Plan: Lessons Learned From China’s Response to Its Recent Housing Crisis

Karthick Arunachalam

Jenna Teterin, Stanford University -- 2008 and 2009. Mortgage defaults, foreclosures, bank bailouts. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These are all words and phrases that come to mind when talking about the housing crisis. The collapse of financial institutions caused by subprime mortgage rates in 2008 and 2009 was felt by the entire United States; more acutely by the over six million American households that lost their homes. But there’s a new housing crisis looming—just not in the United States. The Evergrande Crisis, eponymously named after the Chinese property giant, has introduced a new epidemic of individual and public real estate catastrophes.

Commentary, Health Economics

COMMENTARY: That Time a South American Country Fought Big Tobacco—and Won

Karthick Arunachalam

VinhHuy Le, Stanford University -- In 2010, the world’s largest tobacco conglomerate descended on an international courtroom ready to fight. Philip Morris International, the company behind cigarette brands like Malboro and Chesterfield, sued the South American country of Uruguay for $25 million. But why pick on a country whose entire GDP at the time was half the size of Philip Morris’ net worth?

Commentary

LONG-FORM COMMENTARY: Can Doing Social Good Also Be Good Economics?

Karthick Arunachalam

Neha Malhan, Wellesley College -- Organizations are increasingly being held accountable for their social and environmental impact. While increasing shareholder returns is still seen as the primary objective of a commercial enterprise, advocates of sustainability argue that the interests of all stakeholders need to be served. Yet, in a lot of this debate, the implication is often that doing social good has a cost that must be borne by the enterprise.

Commentary

COMMENTARY: The Digital African Giant

Karthick Arunachalam

Chidera Ejueyitchie, American River College -- With talk of self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, and metaverses dominating the headlines, it is hard not to fantasize about the exciting technological innovations the future holds in store. But somehow, despite all the buzz, the prevailing vision of a futuristic new world still has a missing piece—a blank spot the size of a continent. This isn’t the first time Africa has been forgotten: The continent has lagged behind through each industrial revolution. Today, the African tech industry is ready to finally put an end to this game of catch up.

Commentary, Health Economics

COMMENTARY: Bigger Is Not Always Better: The True Impact of Hospital Mergers

Karthick Arunachalam

Richa Upadhyay, Stanford University -- Most people can name the nation’s most prominent health systems such as Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, and Trinity Health. Hospital mergers and acquisitions continue to make the “household names” of healthcare stronger, but such consolidation often comes at the expense of consumers. More often than not, hospital acquisitions fail to improve health outcomes while raising costs for patients and payers due to decreased competition.

Commentary

COMMENTARY: Contextualizing the Stanford Nursing Strike

Karthick Arunachalam

Nicolas Garcia, Stanford University -- The story of how negotiations between Stanford Hospital and the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA), the union representing registered nurses (RNs) at Stanford, broke down is documented in both news reports and press releases. However, the role that the nursing supply in California played in shaping the strike deserves closer examination.

Commentary

COMMENTARY: Predicting COVID-19’s Long-Term Effects Using Past Pandemics

Karthick Arunachalam

Azmaeen Zarif, University of Cambridge -- Despite vaccine successes, the end of the COVID-19 pandemic remains unclear. While strict public health measures alongside lower fatality rates for the younger population may have mitigated the impacts on potential output in the long-term, issues such as the deskilling and demoralization of unemployed workers and delayed bankruptcies following the eventual withdrawal of governmental support, risk potential deep and persistent economic scarring. Past pandemics may hold the key to predicting the long-term economic effects of COVID-19.