US

Christmas Spending

An annual December spending surge on parties, gift-giving and personal travel delivers net social benefits.

 
US

Poverty and Measurement

This week's IGM Economic Experts Panel statements:

A) The association between health and economic growth in poor countries primarily involves faster growth generating better health, rather than the other way around.

B) The decline in the fraction of people with incomes under, say, $1 per day is a good measure of whether well-being is improving amount low-income populations. 
US

Health Insurance Subsidies

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel statements:

A) Expanding health insurance to more people through the ACA’s public subsidies and Medicaid expansion will reduce total healthcare spending in the economy.

B) Expanding health insurance to more people through the ACA’s public subsidies and Medicaid expansion will generate gains in the health and well-being of the newly insured that exceed the costs. 
US

$15 Minimum Wage

This week’s IGM Economic Experts Panel statements:

A) If the federal minimum wage is raised gradually to $15-per-hour by 2020, the employment rate for low-wage US workers will be substantially lower than it would be under the status quo.

B) Increasing the federal minimum wage gradually to $15-per-hour by 2020 would substantially increase aggregate output in the US economy.