Maxwell School News and Commentary

Fears of recession are growing, especially in the business community, and the question is whether that uncertainty will spread to consumers. "We won’t see that until we start to see a real slowdown in hiring," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely.

Already production of shoes, apparel, toys and other "footloose" industries has been shifting from China to Vietnam and other countries, partly due to rising wages in China, says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

"Both sides are finding out that trade wars are painful," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. "The Chinese economy is slowing. ...Foreign investment into the U.S. is down, and there is concern about domestic investment moving forward."

"A president might do all kinds of inappropriate things, but if members of Congress don’t want to impeach the president, the president won’t be impeached," says Steven White, assistant professor of political science.

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.

"This could be a good year [for newcomers], given the surge in excitement and the willingness of donors to support what would in other years have been considered pretty long-shot candidates," says Danielle Thomsen, assistant professor of political science.

"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."

International automakers are "training their future competitors and receiving only a fraction of what their intellectual property would earn" if they were allowed to go it alone in China, says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

President “Xi has really staked his future on the high-tech sectors in China,” Professor of Economics Mary Lovely says about the race between the U.S., China and other nations to develop the next wireless communications technology, known as 5G.

"Right now, trade policy looks very rear-view mirror," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. "Just worrying about 500 jobs here or 1,000 jobs there seems to miss the need for long-term strategy."