EconoFact Chats

As Tara Watson (Williams College) and Kalee Thompson highlight in their forthcoming book 'Unauthorized: The Human and Economic Costs of Immigration Enforcement in America,' "the American narrative celebrates the idea of immigrants arriving to build a better life in a land of abundance. Yet, Americans have always struggled with immigration, particularly as it intersects with race, poverty, and economic opportunity." In this episode of EconoFact Chats, Tara discusses her and Kalee's forthcoming book, focusing on what we know about undocumented immigration in the U.S., where immigrants come from now, whether that's different from what we've seen in the past, and whether border enforcement is central to controlling illegal immigration.

State and local finances have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.5 million city and state employees losing their jobs since February, and numerous cities slashing spending on police, firemen, parks, sanitation services and other expenditures as revenues fall. In this episode of EconoFact Chats, Michael Strain, Director of Economic Policy at the American Enterprise Institute discusses the financial constraints and challenges facing state and local governments in the wake of COVID-19.

Beyond the obvious effects on health and the economy, COVID-19 has also had an effect on politics; and, in turn, politics has affected the spread of the disease and its economic consequences. In this episode of EconoFact Chats, Michael Klein interviews Political Scientist Jeff Frieden (Harvard) in a discussion of the links between politics and economics in the COVID-19 era.

Unemployment rates in the US have reached levels unseen since the Great Depression and, at the same time, government debt relative to national income is at its highest level since the end of World War II. These two facts have sparked the a debate: Is it time to reduce government support for the economy, or would any moves for fiscal consolidation now, or in the coming months, be premature? Maurice Obstfeld of UC Berkeley speaks with EconoFact Executive Editor Michael Klein to discuss these topics as well as broader issues about the current economic climate.

Policing in minority communities has been a focus of the protests that followed the tragic death of George Floyd. Jennifer Doleac of Texas A&M University speaks with EconoFact's Executive Editor Michael Klein about the need to test a range of policy initiatives, from training, to community outreach, to improve efficacy, and build trust within communities. Prof. Doleac is also the host of Probable Causation, a podcast on law, economics, and crime.

One focus of the protests that followed the tragic death of George Floyd was the issue of policing in minority communities. Professor Jennifer Doleac of Texas A&M University speaks with EconoFact Executive Editor Michael Klein about the need to test and try a range of policy initiatives, from training to community outreach, to improve efficacy and help build trust in the communities. Prof. Doleac is also the host of the podcast Probable Causation, which is about law, economics and crime. (https://www.probablecausation.com/)