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Filtered by: Economic Policy

Does Crisis Lending Help China Win Friends and Influence People?

David A. Steinberg, Selim Erdem Aytaç, Daniel McDowell

The article, co-authored by Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs Daniel McDowell, was published in World Development.

April 13, 2026

See related: China, Economic Policy

McDowell Discusses the Petrodollar Era and Currency Debasement With DW News, Financial Times

“There is an instrumental reason to start warning people about currency debasement, even if you don’t deep down think it’s real, if you profit from this,” says Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs.

April 8, 2026

McDowell Speaks With Newsweek About the Economic Impact of the War in Iran

Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs, says he is concerned the conflict could “result in renewed attacks from the White House on the independence of the Federal Reserve. As oil prices rise and put upward pressure on prices, this makes it less likely that the Fed will cut rates, something President Trump has been demanding for his entire second presidency.”

March 19, 2026

Does the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Help Workers? Hamersma Discusses in Wisconsin Watch Article

“They’re [employers] not passing it along to the workers in the form of higher wages. They’re just sort of being like, ‘Awesome, I got more money,’” says Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

March 10, 2026

Monarch Quoted in WGRZ Article on the Economic Impact of the Conflict in the Middle East

“It's true that there's a direct feedback into the gasoline prices that people face at the pump. But it's such an important commodity for all of the other production that goes on in our economy,” says Ryan Monarch, associate professor of economics.

March 6, 2026

Mitra Weighs In on the US Supreme Court’s Tariff Ruling in Hindustan Times Article

“A prudent approach for India is to let uncertainties arising out of the SCOTUS ruling resolve themselves to the extent possible before finalizing the trade deal,” says Devashish Mitra, Gerald B. and Daphna Cramer Professor of Global Affairs.

March 5, 2026

Rising Waters, Falling Taxes: The Impact of Hurricane Sandy on Property Tax Assessments in NYC

Wei Guo, Qing Miao, Yusun Kim, Yilin Hou

Co-authored by Yilin Hou, professor of public administration and international affairs, the study was published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.

February 26, 2026

Rothenberg Speaks With VoxDev About His Research on Special Economic Zones in Indonesia

“When we look at the effects of the [Indonesia's Integrated Development Zone] program on a variety of different measures—things like average wages in a district, employment rates, population growth, migration, consumption expenditures, poverty—we really find no difference in those outcomes...between the districts that were affected by the program compared to the districts that weren't,” says Alexander Rothenberg, associate professor of economics.
February 20, 2026

McDowell Discusses the Shifting Sentiment on the Dollar in Atlantic Council Article

”The president’s decision to shrug off dollar depreciation fits within a broader pattern, suggesting that the White House is comfortable with a weaker dollar because they view it as a tool to address global trade imbalances. However, this strategy carries risks: it could help rebalance the U.S. trade deficit but would also likely erode returns for foreign investors,” says Daniel McDowell, professor of political science.

February 19, 2026

Cohen Quoted in Marketplace Article on How Tariff Rates are Calculated by the Trump Administration

The U.S. is placing tariffs on other countries for making successful products—not because they’re acting unfairly toward the U.S., says Andrew Wender Cohen, professor of history. “Imagine there's a country that's producing something very inexpensively that people make a lot of use out of. You're basically saying, ‘Well, we want to punish you for that.’”

February 11, 2026

McDowell Speaks With the AP and The World About the Value of Gold, US Trade Partners and the Dollar

There’s been “a real rupture in the way we think about how the world order, if we want to call it that, functions,” says Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs. In moments of instability, he explains, buying gold has historically been a sort of “psychological reaction” for some hoping to find a safe place for their money.

February 4, 2026

McDowell Speaks With Marketplace About Europeans Selling Off US Treasurys

“Any mass sale of Treasurys like that would likely cause severe disruptions that not only impact the U.S., it would also impact European banks and the entire global economy,” says Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs.

January 27, 2026

Griffiths Comments on the US’s Ability to Acquire Greenland in La Presse Article

“The executive power is less hampered than we normally see, but that doesn't mean that there are no constraints,” says Ryan Griffiths, professor of political science.

January 21, 2026

Monarch Speaks to Newsweek About the DOJ's Criminal Investigation Into Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Ryan Monarch, associate professor of economics, agrees with the interpretation of the probe as a “politically motivated attempt to put the conduct of monetary policy and interest rate setting into the realm of the President.” 
January 16, 2026

Colleen Heflin Examines Impact of Changes to Virginia’s Child Care Subsidy Program

The Maxwell professor and fellow researchers are supported by the University of Wisconsin and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

January 15, 2026

Mitra Article on Trump’s 2025 Trade Policy Published on Moneycontrol.com

“Completely ignored was the basic economics of trade deficits and surpluses, which says that trade balances are governed not really by trade policies but by macroeconomic conditions and policies,” says Devashish Mitra, professor of economics.

January 7, 2026

Palmer Article on Reforming and Protecting Social Security Published in The Hill

“It is time to wake up, break the gridlock, and take steps to address a range of large and growing challenges that threaten our collective future—including the need to make the Social Security system both solvent and sustainable,” says University Professor and Dean Emeritus John Palmer and his co-authors.

December 11, 2025

Estévez-Abe Discusses Japan’s Economic Issues and PM Sanae Takaichi With Agence France Presse, DW

“I don't think Takaichi's budget, or anything she has stated so far, addresses any of the core underlying factors,” says Margarita Estévez-Abe, associate professor of political science.

December 10, 2025

Mitra Quoted in LA Times Article on Costco Suing the Trump Administration to Reclaim Tariff Payments

“Whether Costco is successful through its lawsuit in getting compensated for the tariffs that it has already paid on its imports really depends on the Supreme Court’s decision on whether the president has the legal authority to impose tariffs,” says Devashish Mitra, professor of economics.

December 3, 2025

Jiahuan Lu Weighs In on Challenges facing US-Based Charities in WalletHub Article

“As government—especially federal—support recedes, competition for philanthropic dollars and other revenue sources is likely to intensify significantly,” says Jiahuan Lu, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

November 26, 2025

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