Economics News

Gary Engelhardt, professor of economics, and his co-authors found that the introduction of the early retirement option lowered the average age of those claiming Social Security by about a year and a half and lowered Social Security income by an average of 1.5 percent for male-headed retired households.

U.S. tariffs will “drive up costs for U.S.-based manufacturers and disadvantage American workers competing in global markets,” due to the additional costs they will inject into the supply chain, according to Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

"We've come to expect this type of ebb and flow in terms of the threat of levying trade protections against our trading partners from this administration," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

"They failed to drill down on the biggest frictions facing U.S. businesses and on those where we are most able to move the Chinese," Mary Lovely, professor of economics, says of the vague statement the U.S. and China released regarding the trade conflict.

"The proposed tariffs will hit bilateral trade in fast-growing, knowledge-based sectors the hardest," say Mary Lovely, professor of economics, and Yang Liang, a Ph.D. candidate in economics. "Rather than hitting the administration’s intended target—Chinese firms that may have unfairly obtained American technology—the proposed tariffs would actually inflict damage on U.S. high-technology sectors."

"These have morphed into levers, cudgels, whatever you want to call them," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics, about the Trump administration’s trade threats. "We’ll see what’s left in the end."

"With bad credit, it’s harder to get approved for an unsecured credit card, and the unsecured options available to people with bad credit are far less attractive," writes Don Dutkowsky, professor of economics. "If you’ve got bad credit and the flexibility to choose either a secured credit card or an unsecured one, always go secured."

Mary Lovely, professor of economics, warns that using national security as a justification for trade measures opens the door for other countries to do the same. "This is a really slippery slope in a bazillion ways," she says. "This could be a blank check for using these kinds of tools."

Mary Lovely, professor of economics, says any negotiations to rejoin the Trans Pacific Partnership would probably drag well into next year. As a result they are unlikely to give Mr. Trump any quick political victory in farm states.

"These funds helped pretty good cities be better, as opposed to really helping cities in need to become more viable," says Don Dutkowsky, professor of economics. 

Why is free trade popular in the U.S, despite the success of many protectionist candidates in US politics? These syracuse professors explain that protectionist rhetoric is enjoyed by voters, who are ideologically committed to nationalist values such as protectionism, while still seventy eight percent of college graduates believe that free trade is an opportunity for economic growth. 

"China wants to use industrial policies and state support to shape its economy," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely. "The Trump administration wants to use American market power to force our trading partners to adopt policies that help us shape our economy."

Mary Lovely, professor of economics, says it’s impossible to protect American consumers and put maximum pressure on China at the same time.

For Xi's government, "this particular episode is going to play right into their ability to get people on their side because Trump is seen as the aggressor," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.