Planet Money

As the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, pushes for cutting government spending from GDP calculations, alarms have been raised for the Ford School's Betsey Stevenson. Stevenson told Planet Money in a discussion about the GDP and government work...

"You know, we can blame George Soros or say that he made money off governments, but I guess I wouldn't really put it in moral terms. It is one of the fundamental costs of a fixed exchange rate. You're setting yourself up for the potential of a run....

The Ford School's Betsey Stevenson has been commenting on the President's influence on the economy, the growth of the service economy, and the role union workers will play in the upcoming election.“Betsey Stevenson on the power the president has...

Betsey Stevenson, Ford School professor and economist, explained the Taft-Hartley Act which took some powers away from unions in 1947, and why dock workers are sill mad about it today. Stevenson said the dock workers are "like a linchpin to the...

The way that a lot of pharmaceutical companies got their knowledge was often from going to other countries and finding out about Indigenous knowledge and then coming back and testing that. So there's a famous case of Eli Lilly patenting a treatment...

Ford School economist Betsey Stevenson has noted that in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shattered labor markets, women’s participation had been at its highest level ever. Now as the U.S. economy rebuilds, she again is commenting on...

As countries around the world work to fight inflation, central banks have a limited number of options to cool their economies. When countries raise interest rates, and their currencies get stronger, they may begin to engage in a competition with...

 Economist Betsey Stevenson is keeping a close eye on the country's economic recovery, and provides insights in a number of news outlets this week. "Recovery in the labor force requires getting people into jobs and then keeping them there,"...

Ford School professor Shobita Parthasarathy believes that as a matter of public policy, people should have more control over what researchers can do with their cells. In a recent segment on NPR's Planet Money, she noted that you can find human...

On “The Indicator” from NPR’s Planet Money podcast, professors Stevenson and Wolfers share what’s giving them hope as the year draws to a close.  For Stevenson, employers are coming to recognize the real struggles their employees (particularly...

The devastating GDP numbers announced at the end of July—a decline of 9-and-a-half percent—are the worst in American history, according to Ford School economics professor Justin Wolfers. The way the numbers are reported, that at an annualized rate...

Planet Money, the irreverent and informative NPR podcast, is convening a Summer School starting on July 8, “turning it's podcast feed into a classroom for the masses, for anyone who wants to see the world through the lens of an economist.” Ford...

Dean Michael Barr is featured on a recent episode of The Indicator, a podcast from NPR's Planet Money. The episode, titled "Dungeons & Dragons & Balance Sheets," explored the origins, results, and future of annual "stress tests" for mid-sized to...