The Devastating Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Older Black and Latinx Adults: Implications for Health and Well-Being

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recession have wreaked havoc on the United States’ economy and brought to the forefront stark racial and ethnic inequalities in our society. Older Black and Latinx adults are particularly hard hit by the pandemic as they have relatively lower levels of income and wealth to protect against crises. This study used data from the 2020 COVID-19 module of the Health and Retirement Study, to highlight how the COVID-19 pandemic has economically impacted older Black, U.S.-born Latinx and foreign-born Latinx adults. Results show the pandemic has economically devastated older Black and Latinx adults across a host of economic factors, with foreign-born Latinx experiencing greater economic hardships relative to other groups. Our findings document stark inequalities that are being exacerbated by the pandemic. We discuss the implications of the economic shocks of the pandemic for the health and well-being of older Black and Latinx adults.

Characterization of indoor arenas through an anonymous survey

Equine farms are building both stables for the horses to live in and additional facilities to train and work horses . For many of these farms, an outdoor arena that has an all-weather footing is the first working facility built. During inclement weather the ability to train in the outdoor arenas is inhibited, which in turn means the trainers, riders, and farms lose income as money is only made when horses are working, training, and competing. Indoor arenas allow for horses to continue to be worked no matter the weather conditions. The equine industry contributes a total of $122 billion dollars a year to the United States’ economy. The expenditures to build and maintain these arenas the horses utilize for training and work are a portion of the equine economic contribution . During the summer of 2018, an anonymous online survey was conducted to begin to characterize indoor arenas. Owners, managers, and riders were questioned on a variety of topics including arena construction and design, arena usage, footing type, maintenance practices, environmental concerns, and potential health issues experienced within the facilities. Respondents in the study defined indoor arenas differently depending on geographic region, however most definitions included a roof, some enclosure, and footing in order to work the horses. In addition, of the 335 respondents of the survey, 71% or 239 respondents reported having concerns about the environment within the indoor arena. The three main concerns are dust, moisture, and lack of air movement. Overall, the survey begins to build our understanding regarding these facilities and provides the framework to continue research in the future.

Financialization and income inequality: bringing class struggle back in

Financialization and rising income inequality are two of the most pronounced economic developments of recent decades, and there is increasing evidence that these trends are somehow related. However, explanations of this link are still limited, and pay little attention to workers themselves. As a result, the impact of financialization on income inequality appears at most as an unfortunate side-effect. This article takes a different approach by investigating both financialization and income inequality from within the historical development of the class struggle in the United States economy. It shows that the economic problems of the 1970s that provided the impetus for financialization were closely related to the escalating conflicts between labor and capital, in which the state served as an increasingly important terrain of struggle. Viewed from this perspective, rising income inequality appears less as an unexpected outcome of financialization and more as its very raison d’etre.

The Recovery from the Great Recession: A Long, Evolving Expansion

Prior to 2020, the Great Recession was the most important macroeconomic shock to the United States’ economy in generations. Millions lost jobs and homes. At its peak, one in ten workers who wanted a job could not find one. On an annual basis, the economy contracted by more than it had since the Great Depression. A slow and steady recovery followed the Great Recession’s official end in summer 2009, but because it was slow and the depth of the recession so deep, it took years to reduce slack in labor markets. But because the recovery lasted so long, many pre-recession peaks were exceeded, and eventually real wage growth accumulated for workers across the distribution. In fact, the business cycle (including recession and recovery) beginning in December 2007 was one of the better periods of real wage growth in many decades, with the bulk of that coming in the last years of the recovery.

The Centenary of the Communist Party of China, Major Developmental Achievements and the New Blue Print

This paper examines the 100 years existence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since its formation in 1921 in the city of Shanghai. The significance of the CCP is also examined because it drives the policies of the Chinese People’s Republic of China. It dominates the economy and controls all the state institutions. The analysis of the development trajectory of the Chinese state in the last 100 years is examined along with its major developmental achievements. The paper examines related literature from library research using descriptive method. The political party and Marxist theories are the theoretical frameworks used in examining the development milestones. The finding shows that China has emerged as the second most dominant economy in the world and is gearing towards overtaking the United States’ economy in all areas. This paper concludes that the developmental achievements of the People’s Republic of China was made possible by the painstaking, diligent and careful central planning of adopting the Marxist, socialist and mixed economy approach to the development of China. Finally, the paper recommends that despite all these successes recorded by transforming China and developing its economy through the careful guidance of the party, there remains a lot of challenges that its leaders must address before its continued growth gets undermined.

Macroeconomic Effects of Trade Tariffs: A Case Study of the U.S.-China Trade War Effects on the Economy of the United States

This paper explores the macroeconomic effects of trade tariffs in the context of the recent trade conflict between the United States and China. The focus is laid on two trade war scenarios, and one of them takes into account the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global trade flows. After deploying the partial equilibrium SMART model, the authors conclude that solely due to the trade war with China, in 2020, the US total trade balance will improve by 41,020 million USD (0.21% of real GDP), while 43,777 million USD (0.22% of real GDP) of the US imports will have to be sourced from other countries. The US trade intensity with China and welfare will decline. However, our study has found that the potential economic consequences of COVID-19 will reduce the relative effects of the trade war. The study has revealed that the United States economy will benefit from the trade war, which can be explained by a relatively weak China’s retaliatory response. Nevertheless, the US agriculture and automotive sectors will suffer most.