Chicken Little is an Increasingly Rare Bird

Chicken Little is an Increasingly Rare Bird

By Michael Coon  / 13 April 2023
Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash Production of boiler chickens (those raised for their meat, not eggs) in the US...
EVs: Driving Change at Convenience Stores

EVs: Driving Change at Convenience Stores

By Veronica Horton  / 11 April 2023
Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash The United Nation’s (UN) recent report on the impending changes the world is facing...
Who’s In The Driver’s Seat: The Changing Dynamics of Auto Production

Who’s In The Driver’s Seat: The Changing Dynamics of Auto Production

By Veronica Horton  / 4 April 2023
Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash If you were shopping for a new car during the pandemic or even just...
China’s Population is Declining – Too hot, too cold, or just nice for its Economic Development?

China’s Population is Declining – Too hot, too cold, or just nice for its Economic Development?

By Sunita Kumari  / 23 March 2023
On Tuesday, January 17th, 2023, China’s National Bureau of Statistics released the country’s population data to be 1.41175 billion in...
The Externalities Effect of Child Firearm Fatalities in the States

The Externalities Effect of Child Firearm Fatalities in the States

By Sunita Kumari  / 21 March 2023
A study published on July 8th, 2022 by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) analyzed how gun fatalities among children and...
Why is Everything Getting So Expensive?

Why is Everything Getting So Expensive?

By econwpadmin  / 16 March 2023
Prices on everyday products like groceries and diapers have increased dramatically in the last couple of years, with inflation often...
Understanding the U.S. Labor Market – A January 2023 Snapshot

Understanding the U.S. Labor Market – A January 2023 Snapshot

By Sunita Kumari  / 9 March 2023
Photo by Luis Melendez on Unsplash According to the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) website, April 2020 recorded the highest...
The New Economics of Car Production

The New Economics of Car Production

By Veronica Horton  / 7 March 2023
Photo by Dan Dennis on Unsplash Engineers working at some of American car maker Ford’s facilities in Europe might be...
Looming Water Crisis – What can YOU do to Conserve Water?

Looming Water Crisis – What can YOU do to Conserve Water?

By Sunita Kumari  / 23 February 2023
www.britannica.com Looking at the droplet in the infographic, only 2.6% of the world’s water supply is fresh water, while the...
U.K. Economy Three Years after Brexit

U.K. Economy Three Years after Brexit

By Sunita Kumari  / 7 February 2023
Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash Brexit is the term used to mark the event when the United Kingdom (U.K.)...

COVID-19

Innovative Ways some Restaurants are responding to COVID-19

The restaurant and service industries in our nation have been severely impacted by COVID-19. The Food Action Policy released a detailed blog regarding ways Congress can assist the restaurant industry during this time. The FPA states that the restaurant industry is crucial to our economy, contributing “$1 trillion to our economy and representing 4% of our gross domestic product.” Restaurants all over the nation are closed due to COVD-19. “Up to seven million people have been laid off, and millions of farmers, beverage suppliers, delivery people, manufacturers, launderers, and other small businesses will have their bills go unpaid, creating an unprecedented trickle-down effect of damage to these local restaurants and their communities.” The FPA estimates a $225 Billion loss in revenue over the next 3 months.

Breweries and Distilleries Produce Hand Sanitizer to Relieve Shortage

The global spread of the Coronavirus led to a surge in demand for a number of goods including toilet paper, disinfectant wipes, and hand sanitizer. Many people worried about future availability began stockpiling supplies for their family. Others began stockpiling to profit off of expected future prices. Many states enacted anti price-gouging laws to prevent profiteering, but shortages persisted.

NASA Finds Significant Decreases in China’s Air Pollution

NASA finds that COVD-19 has drastically reduced China’s air pollution. Through usage of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite, NASA measured NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) levels in Wuhan, China. Nitrogen dioxide is emitted from the burning of fuel, primarily from transportation vessels and power plants. Every year, celebrations of the Lunar New Year normally result in business closures from late January to early February. During this time, NO2 levels drop and then eventually rise again. However, during January and February of 2020, China saw a reduction in NO2 levels of 10% to 30% below averages and expectations. Additionally, NO2 levels have not rebounded since the conclusion of the Lunar New Year Celebration.

The New York Times: “America Stress-Bought All the Baby Chickens”

Sales of baby chicks often rise before Easter, but this year’s increase has been extraordinary due to a variety of factors influenced by COVID-19: people are staying home with time to spend, while egg prices have increased 50% in some parts of the country due to increased demand, and eggs are difficult to find on shelves in some cities.

3.3 Million Americans Applied for Unemployment Last Week

After the federal government placed a ban on gatherings of ten or more people last Monday, restaurants and bars across the country either closed or drastically altered their operations. Although such measures are necessary to contain the spread of coronavirus, countless businesses have had to furlough workers or lay them off entirely as a result. In fact, statistics released by the Labor Department this morning found that a record 3.3 million Americans applied to receive unemployment benefits last week.

Drive-In Movie Theater Popularity Surges Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Don’t call it a comeback! Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, certain markets will see expansions and others will see contractions. We already see contraction and a reduction in economic activity in our service industries. One unique market that is seeing an expansion, or increase in economic activity, are Drive-In Movie Theaters. The Los Angeles Times reports, some of the 305 drive-in movie theaters in the United States are seeing a surge in sales. The Paramount Drive-in (in Paramount, CA) reported that their sales have at least doubled, and demand is at an all-time high.

PBS News Hour: “Economist Ken Rogoff on Whether the U.S. Has Ever Experienced A Crisis Like This One”

As the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic continues to pile up, Harvard economist Ken Rogoff says that a global recession is almost certainly in the cards, at least in the short term. Already filings for unemployment benefits have surged, stock markets around the world have crashed (taking with them the gains of the past three years), and factories and shops are shutting down. Many countries are now implementing emergency fiscal stimulus policies in an attempt to stop the carnage, but the economic chaos is expected to be especially challenging for developing countries and emerging markets. China, the origin of the novel coronavirus, now offers a glimpse of optimism as it begins to reopen its economy following its own period of social distancing and economic lockdown, although it is unclear who will buy its products if the rest of the world is staying home.