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Faculty Viewpoints

  • Can Government Contain the Economic Crisis?

    Prof. Andrew Metrick, director of the Yale Program on Financial Stability, says that fighting a crisis is different from economic policymaking in normal times; governments need to be exceptionally generous and not get bogged down in stringent processes that keep money from getting to those in need.

    Closed businesses in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in August 2020. Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images.
  • Please Mr. Postman

    Some have defended cutbacks to the United States Postal Service, weeks ahead of the election, by citing the USPS’s financial struggles. But the postal service was created to provide a public service, writes Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, not to turn a profit.

    A USPS worker wearing a mask puts envelopes in a mailbox while driving past
  • Departures from Convention

    With the Democratic National Convention taking place online, Prof. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld reflects on other conventions Americans have abandoned, and the traditions we’ve let go of, during this tumultuous time.

    The Statue of Liberty at night
  • Can We Make Recycling Work?

    The ubiquitous blue bin for single-stream recycling obscures a set of tradeoffs and challenges, including contamination that complicates processing and lowers the value of recyclable materials.

    A materials recovery facility (MRF) in Philadelphia in 2017. Photo: Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
  • In Estimating COVID-19 Infection Risk, Frequency of an Activity Is Key

    With proper precautions, the risk of a day at work, a ride on the bus, or a workout at the gym may be acceptable, write Yale SOM’s Arthur J. Swersey and his co-authors. But that risk compounds dramatically when an activity is repeated day after day.

    A pattern of dots of different colors
  • John Lewis’s Last Lesson for Leaders

    Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld reflects on the lessons he learned from the civil rights pioneer and congressman John Lewis about voice, courage, integrity—and the dangers of being too patient.

    Congressman John Lewis is arrested for blocking traffic outside the U.S. Capitol at a protest in support of immigration reform in 2013. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images.
  • The Wealth Gap Facing Black Americans Is Vast—and Vastly Underestimated  

    For every $100 in wealth held by a White family, a Black family has just $10. But studies by Yale’s Jennifer Richeson and Michael Kraus show that Americans believe that the disparity is much smaller.

    An illustration of a chart of the wealth gap over the word "Inequality"
  • How You Can Invest in Racial Justice

    Yale SOM’s Teresa Chahine and a panel of experts discussed how businesses, financial firms, and regular investors can make choices that empower local businesses and increase opportunity.

    students in a phlebotomy class
  • Liquidity Injections May Have Driven the Stock Market Recovery

    Why did the stock market recover as the economy suffered? Yale SOM’s Shyam Sunder points to the hundreds of billions of dollars injected into the economy by the Federal Reserve and other central banks.

    An illustration of Fed chair Jerome Powell speaking on a laptop in front of a stock chart
  • Frontline Healthcare Providers Need Proactive Mental Health Care

    The devastating mental health consequences of working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic are already becoming apparent. Yale SOM’s Julia DiBenigno and Harvard’s Michaela Kerrissey propose assigning dedicated mental health personnel to frontline medical units.

    A nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital in April 2020. Photo: Erin Clark for The Boston Globe via Getty Images.