Maxwell School News and Commentary

"Higher taxes on these goods are likely to be highly regressive, in that lower and middle class Americans spend a higher portion of their income on these Chinese imports than do higher income Americans," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.

Yilin Hou, professor of public administration and international affairs, won a joint best research award from the Deng Ziji Foundation and the Journal of Trade and Finance Economics in China for a co-authored paper published in the journal. The paper provides evidence to advocate for a broad-base property tax in order to capture the capitalized value arising from improved public services.

"Thanks to Christine Lagarde’s leadership, her successor will inherit a stronger institution and far less tumultuous conditions. Yet her tenure in Washington was not without controversy. She also leaves her replacement with some major challenges, including preparing for the next financial crisis and keeping the peace between the IMF’s two most important member states," writes Associate Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell.

"We’re going to see permanently higher prices because the system as a whole will be less efficient," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely. "President Trump’s actions are cementing firms’ view that this is going to go on for a long time."

"This new bundle of taxes falls heavily on final goods, such as clothing, shoes, household goods and baby products. If the tariffs start on September 1, as suggested by the president's tweet, shoppers will see the impact immediately, as they begin their back-to-school shopping," writes Professor of Economics Mary Lovely. 

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.

Slowing demand in China could depress their revenue, earnings and stock market value, says Mary Lovely, professor of economics. "President Trump is probably happy that he’s starting to tank the Chinese economy," Lovely says. "But it’s a case of ‘be careful what you wish for.’"

"In a war, you can hurt certain areas of a country, but you usually don't grenade the entire economy. Whereas with economic warfare, you truly can," says Corri Zoli, director of research in the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism. 

"I think whatever jobs are created by President Trump's war on global supply chains are going to be dwarfed by losses in the U.S. export sectors," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.