Maxwell School News and Commentary

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.

Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, says those who pay attention to politics tend to be more partisan and often set aside information they find inconsistent with their beliefs. "To the extent that you like this administration," she says, "you might say this is just the way business is done. This isn’t a concern."

"Until there are more moderates elected they aren’t going to be able to galvanize and be able to leverage the votes that they need to have any influence," says Danielle Thomsen, assistant professor of political science.

"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.

"If something big is revealed—an impeachable offense by the president—that could be a significant factor in creating a blue (Democratic) wave," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. On the other hand, he says, if the investigations end with nothing really significant or new "it gives power to President Trump's narrative that it has all been a witch hunt, which could give Republicans a boost."

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks says that the recently released meeting transcripts between the Trump campaign and Russian lawyers corroborated what was already known, that "the Russians did attempt to influence the election, and they attempted to do so in favor of the candidate Donald Trump, who they hoped would win."

"It has obviously been an enormous distraction for the administration," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. "Whatever the amount of political capital [Trump had], it has been diminished."

"The economics profession still struggles to be inclusive. But my hope is that one day, when a woman (of whatever height) presents her research, no one will be surprised when she does a stellar job," writes Mary Daly ’91 M.Phil. (Econ)/’94 Ph.D. (Econ).