Business & Entrepreneurship

Olin Business School faculty at Washington University in St. Louis offer perspectives on the economic, financial and everyday business reactions to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The Mastercard Impact Fund recently awarded the  Social Policy Institute (SPI) at Washington University in St. Louis a three-year, $1.5 million grant. Mastercard’s founding partnership of the SPI will further strengthen the institute’s ability to use research and data science to impact social policy and to promote inclusive growth in the St. Louis community and beyond.

Some economic observers continue to warn about signs of a potential U.S. recession. Glenn MacDonald, the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics and Strategy at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, says many signs aren’t particularly reliable — but keep an eye on housing starts.

The newly formed Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis will bring together the best research evidence from across disciplines to solve real-world challenges. The institute launches Sept. 24.

Lawmakers in California have approved a bill that could pave the way for gig economy workers, such as Uber and Lyft drivers, to be reclassified as employees and not contract workers. If the bill becomes law, it will have broad implications for labor in America, says Pauline Kim, an employment law expert in the School of Law.

In a new study involving a researcher from Washington University in St. Louis’ Olin Business School, the co-authors discovered something they say surprised them: Medicare Part D’s setup actually inhibits insurers from seeking higher subsidies from the government. It keeps subsidies in check by virtue of the way it’s designed.

If the proposed Trump Administration tariffs are imposed and continue into 2020, China’s likely strategy will be to use fireworks as a “political toy” heading into the election season, says a Washington University in St. Louis expert on international trade.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. recently awarded Washington University’s Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship a $100,000 planning grant as part of its Ascend 2020 Initiative.

Researchers from Olin Business School explore the complexity of tariffs as a trade tool in a global economy in a new paper. The research also establishes a supply chain model to explain those effects. The model proposes that, in some cases, the effects were foreseeable when accounting for strategic multi-party interactions and competition.

When 800,000 government employees eventually return to work after a shutdown that started Dec. 22, expect them to work less efficiently — or, at minimum, feel less engaged and far less respected, says an expert in government leadership and organizational strategy at Olin Business School.