Prof. Jonathan Gruber speaks with Boston Public Radio about the economics of sanctions and whether they have been an effective tool to deter Russia's invasion of Ukraine. “The integrated world economy has made these sanctions so much more powerful,” says Gruber. “The real test is will they eventually work to bring [Putin] to heel over the longer run.”
Gas prices in Massachusetts have been spiking since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reports Kristina Rex for CBS Boston. “This is an artificially set price because OPEC controls how much oil they release,” says Prof. Jon Gruber. “[OPEC] like[s] the price going up, but if it goes up too much and people stop driving, it’s bad for them, so at some point they will release more oil and keep the price from going too high.”
Steven Gonzalez Monserrate PhD ’22 writes for Scientific American about the ecological and environmental implications of our digital lives. “As [the cloud] continues to expand, its environmental impact increases, even as the engineers, technicians, and executives behind its infrastructures strive to balance profitability with sustainability,” writes Gonzalez Monserrate.
New York Times reporter Daisuke Wakabayashi highlights a paper written by Prof. Glenn Ellison, head of MIT’s Department of Economics, and Senior Lecturer Sarah Fisher Ellison explaining how technology has made it easier to find products, but retailers have retaliated by raising prices. “To the extent that there is more obfuscation going on, consumers pay more for everything,” said Ellison. Wakabayashi also spotlights a study by Prof. Amy Finkelstein that found “when people use cash less, prices go up.”
ABC News reporter Mary Kekatos speaks with Prof. Kate Brown about concerns surrounding Russian troops’ recent seizure of the Chernobyl nuclear plant. “Conventional war and nuclear power are not a good combination,” says Brown. “Nuclear power requires security, stability and peace. It’s a tall order.”
Carol R. Saivetz, a senior advisor for MIT’s Security Studies Program, speaks with NBC Boston about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The claims that this was all about NATO expansion are really false,” says Saivetz. “I think it’s much more about Putin’s imperial ambitions and this whole idea that unless he can put back together the Soviet Union that somehow Russia is not a great power.”
Prof. Kate Brown speaks with Verge reporter Justine Calma about the potential implications of fighting in the containment zone around Chernobyl. “It’s a continuing problem,” Brown says. “It’s supposed to be contained. It’s supposed to be left untouched. And that’s the problem with any kind of nuclear site. It demands stability and peace.”
New York Times reporter Steve Lohr spotlights how the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Omidyar Network have made a gift to help establish a new program that will analyze forces contributing to the erosion of job quality and labor market opportunity for workers without college degrees. “Markets are terrific, but we have to overcome this notion that ‘markets are autonomous — so just leave it to the market,’” says Prof. David Autor. “That fatalism is a decision.”
A new study by MIT researchers finds that mediation apps may have benefits for users in reducing anxiety and depression, reports The Economist. “Access to the app reduced the share of participants with moderate or severe anxiety by 13 percentage points, or 50%, compared to the control group. The share of participants with moderate or severe depression fell by 14 percentage points, or 47%.”
Bloomberg reporter Ben Holland spotlights “The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines” – a new book written by Prof. David Autor, Prof. David Mindell and Elizabeth Reynolds PhD ’10 – about the future of job mobility and social safety nets in the United States.
On Point host Meghna Chakrabarti speaks with Prof. David Autor about his research investigating the success and failures of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). “If there's one thing I would change, is that I would rebuild our unemployment insurance program, so use modern data systems integrated nationally,” says Autor of how he would alter the PPP.
AP reporter Christopher Rugaber writes that Susan M. Collins PhD ’84 will be the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. “Dr. Collins brings the technical expertise and insight to contribute to policymaking and the leadership ability to head the organization,” said Christina Paxso and chair of the Boston Fed’s Board of Directors.
Susan M. Collins PhD ’84 has been selected as the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, “the first woman of color selected to lead one of the 12 regional Fed branches since the central bank system was created in 1914,” reports Larry Edelman for The Boston Globe. “A common theme throughout my career has been commitment to the mission of public service to improve lives — whether through education, research, or policy,” said Collins.
Prof. David Autor, Harvard University Prof. Gordon Hanson, University of Zurich Prof. David Dorn, and Monsah University Prof. Kaveh Majlesi have described an “ideological realignment in trade-exposed local labor markets that commences prior to the divisive 2016 U.S. presidential election,” reports Thomas B. Edsall for The New York Times.
Susan M. Collins PhD ‘84 has been named the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, reports Michael S. Derby for The Wall Street Journal. “Throughout my career, I have been driven by a commitment to leveraging research, education and public service to improve lives,” says Collins. “I look forward to helping the bank and system pursue the Fed’s dual mandate from Congress – achieving price stability and maximum employment.”