The number of deaths caused by COVID-19, the result of the novel coronavirus, is a key metric to judge the virus’s trajectory. But measuring deaths is more complicated than counting only the deaths of those people who had tested positive for the virus. To combat the pandemic and its effects productively, authorities and policymakers need accurate knowledge about how many people have died from COVID-19 and whether the death rate is growing, shrinking, or holding steady.

CLEVELAND -- A lot can happen in just a few months. It’s hard to believe that, in early March, Ohio’s job market was at full employment and businesses were hard-pressed to find the skilled workers they needed. Then came COVID-19, and within weeks, nearly a million Ohioans found themselves out of work and businesses across the state were struggling to survive America’s first major recession in a dozen years.

Kristen Tauber Willem Van Zandweghe

Empirical studies find that the link between inflation and economic slack has weakened in recent decades, a development that could hamper monetary policymakers as they aim to achieve their inflation objective. We show that while the role of economic slack has diminished, economic growth has become a significant driver of inflation dynamics, indicating that the link between inflation and economic activity remains but the relevant gauge of activity has changed. The new evidence suggests that the COVID-19-related recession could induce substantial disinflationary pressure. Read More

The Diversity Best Practices Inclusion Index provides information to help organizations understand gaps in demographic representation, and is a strategic road map to drive internal change to find and implement D&I solutions. This year, the number of participants increased by 24 percent, with 184 sharing their data. They were scored in three areas: best practices in recruitment, retention and advancement of people from underrepresented groups—women, racial/ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people; creating an inclusive culture through leadership, accountability, communications and employee engagement; and workforce demographic data. We assess the demographic data for gender and race/ethnicity for management and more-senior positions. That’s because diversity in representation is one of the best ways to assess outcomes of D&I initiatives.

The Working Mother Research Institute...

“We found that the vast majority of respondents, almost 90 percent, reported having worn a mask the last time they went out in public to an indoor space, even though not all were required by state or local ordinance to do so,” say the authors of an Economic Commentary based on a survey of consumers. While most respondents indicated that they were extremely likely to wear a mask if required by public authorities, the reported likelihood is strongly dependent on the age of the respondents and how effective they considered masks to be.

Summer Scholar

Rebecca Cowin is a summer scholar in the Community Development Department. She is pursuing a BA in economics with a minor in Spanish at the University of Minnesota.

Senior Research Economist

Raphael Schoenle's research focuses on macro- and monetary economics, in particular on firms’ pricing behavior and the role of financial frictions in these processes. His research also spans behavioral economics and household finance, the economics of production networks, and international macroeconomics.

We use WARN data to assess layoffs in four Midwestern states during the current pandemic-induced recession—Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The data come from the advance layoff notices filed under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. We find that the number of workers affected by layoff announcements rose sharply in the second half of March and April, and unexpected changes in economic conditions meant that workers received little advance notice before layoff. Layoff announcements have affected workers across these four states, and workers in mining and leisure and hospitality have been affected the most. Most recently, the number of workers affected by WARN notices has almost returned to prerecession levels.

CHICAGO, IL – Diversity MBA Media, a national organization integrating diversity and inclusion with talent management, today publishes its 14th annual list of 50 Out Front: Best Places to Work for Women & Diverse Managers Ranking has named UPMC as the No. 1 company for 2020.  The Pittsburgh-based health-care provider earned the top spot for a second year in a row.

LOREAL USA is No. 2 and Blue Cross Blue Shield, Michigan won the third spot. (The entire list is below.)

The companies are ranked using Diversity MBA’s benchmarking metrics, which measure how companies and organizations are investing in intentional strategies to advance women and managers of diverse backgrounds. Overall, the survey shows continued progress for diversity efforts, said Pam McElvane, CEO and publisher of Diversity MBA Magazine.

“CEO engagement and commitment to community continues to be at an all-time high,” McElvane said. “More and more companies are finding ways to...

Policymakers are exploring ways to reduce the number of novel coronavirus infections without resorting to broad-based economic shutdowns. A variety of evidence suggests that face coverings can help reduce the spread of the virus; however, face coverings’ effectiveness in regard to avoiding another shutdown depends on widespread use, and not everyone is wearing them.

“We found that the vast majority of respondents, almost 90 percent, reported having worn a mask the last time they went out in public to an indoor space, even though not all were required by state or local ordinance to do so,” say the authors of an Economic Commentary based on a survey of consumers. While most respondents indicated that they were extremely likely to wear a mask if required by public authorities, the reported likelihood is strongly dependent on the age of the respondents and how effective they considered masks to be.

America needs a bridge—a bridge that will get households, communities, and businesses over the unanticipated challenges created by the COVID-19 shutdown. In helping to build that bridge, the Federal Reserve, with authorization from Congress, has created and revived a number of rare lending programs, each providing targeted assistance to the needs of those impacted.

The challenge: After lenders lend money to people for uses such as buying a car, paying college tuition, or running a small business, they often bundle the loans they’ve made and sell them to investors. The lenders do this for two reasons: They want to reduce their risk—keeping too many of the same kind of loan is financially risky—and they want to get money so they can make more loans.

To sell the bundled loans to investors, lenders turn them into asset-backed securities—bonds backed by the value of loans. But COVID-19 disruptions created uncertainty about borrowers’ ability to repay their loans,...

We use WARN data to assess layoffs in four Midwestern states during the current pandemic-induced recession—Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The data come from the advance layoff notices filed under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. We find that the number of workers affected by layoff announcements rose sharply in the second half of March and April, and unexpected changes in economic conditions meant that workers received little advance notice before layoff. Layoff announcements have affected workers across these four states, and workers in mining and leisure and hospitality have been affected the most. Most recently, the number of workers affected by WARN notices has almost returned to prerecession levels.

CHICAGO, IL – Diversity MBA Media, a national organization integrating diversity and inclusion with talent management, publishes its 14th Annual Best in Class Recognition – those that have demonstrated consistent and excellent practices, with metrics aligned with strategy that results in impactful change.

“It is important to recognize the effort required to drive results for implementing diversity and inclusion strategies and the Top 50 companies we have selected have made significant and laudable efforts toward achieving those goals,” said Pam McElvane, CEO of Diversity MBA Media & publisher of Diversity MBA Magazine. McElvane added: “The intent of the Best in Class categories is to recognize companies and organizations that have outstanding results and have made significant progress in the categories listed.”

The methodology behind DMBA’s Inclusive Leadership Index is multi-tiered, beginning with the registration of participating organizations...

President and Chief Executive Officer

Loretta J. Mester participates in the formulation of U.S. monetary policy, and oversees 1,000 employees in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh who conduct economic research, supervise banking institutions, and provide payment services to commercial banks and the U.S. government. She assumed her role as president and CEO in June 2014.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Loretta J. Mester participates in the formulation of U.S. monetary policy, and oversees 1,000 employees in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh who conduct economic research, supervise banking institutions, and provide payment services to commercial banks and the U.S. government. She assumed her role as president and CEO in June 2014.