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A plan to expand the child tax credit would go a long way in reducing childhood poverty in America, saving billions in future costs, says an expert on poverty and inequality at Washington University in St. Louis.

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After years of record investments and outsized returns fueled by ultralow interest rates, 3,200 U.S. private venture-backed companies — mostly tech startups — went out of business last year. Doug Villhard at Washington University in St. Louis' Olin Business School said the bust will cause the industry to reassess what is really important.

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During this open enrollment season, parents should consider privacy implications when adding their adult children to their health insurance plan, said an expert on health insurance at Washington University in St. Louis. “Under the Affordable Care Act, young adults can stay on their parents’ health insurance until they turn 26,” said Mary Mason, MD, associate director of the university’s Cordell Institute for Policy in Medicine & Law.

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“Hey, Alexa, play the latest Taylor Swift album.” Smart speakers offer amazing convenience — from playing your favorite tunes to re-ordering toilet paper — with only a simple voice command. But that convenience can come with a steep cost in privacy that many consumers aren’t even aware they’re paying.

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New research by Carly Wayne, assistant professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis, demonstrates how a victimhood narrative plays a role in shaping Israeli political attitudes and and foments negative intergroup attitudes, and offers insight into Israel's response to the attack by Hamas.

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The persistently tight labor market, growing frustration over wage inequality and record high support for unions set the stage for the United Auto Workers strike, according to Jake Rosenfeld, a professor of sociology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

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This fall, ABC will premiere the reality show “The Golden Bachelor,” a spinoff of “The Bachelor,” where the star is Gerry Turner, a 71-year-old man looking for a new partner. The show has the potential to help normalize the desire for love at any age, said an expert on productive engagement of older adults.

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Former President Donald Trump was indicted this month over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He plans to fight the charges in part by claiming that the prosecution would violate his right to freedom of speech.Not so, says a First Amendment expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

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The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action in college admissions is likely to encourage more lawsuits against other race-conscious policies, including in employment, says an employment law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.“A majority of the court has clearly expressed a general antipathy to explicitly race-based policies that are intended to improve equity,” said Pauline Kim, the Daniel Noyes Kirby Professor of Law.

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On June 13, the Federal Reserve released updated inflation figures showing that the Consumer Price Index grew at a 4% annual rate in May. The difference in consumer prices from April to May, however, was just 0.1%. These two numbers paint very different pictures of the current state of inflation and the American economy.The confusion comes from the way in which we calculate inflation, according to John Horn, a professor of practice in economics at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St.

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In suburban backyards and at family picnic gatherings across the United States, mosquitoes are a common pest. People are most likely to get bitten by mosquitoes during the warm and lazy summer months, says Katie Westby, vector and disease ecologist at Tyson Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis’ environmental field station in Eureka, Mo.

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The Goldman Sachs Group is considering a sale of its consumer banking business, but regulations will mean it can’t simply return to being an investment bank, said an expert on financial and securities regulation at Washington University in St. Louis.“While exiting the consumer banking business may allow Goldman to ‘check out,’ it can never fully leave the regulatory world for bank holding companies and return to its investment banking roots,” said Andrew Tuch, a professor of law.

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Major advances in battery technologies will bring us a big step closer this year to large-scale renewable energy goals, international energy independence and a big reduction in greenhouse gases, according to an expert from Washington University in St. Louis. “One of the major challenges to a fully renewable-energy future of wind and solar power is energy storage,” said Michael Wysession, a professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St.

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It has been nearly three years since the COVID-19 pandemic upended businesses worldwide. From supply chain disruptions to shipping delays, worker shortages and, now, the looming threat of a recession, it has been anything but business as usual ever since.With so much uncertainty, how can businesses gain a competitive edge going into the new year and beyond? How can they better anticipate threats created by competitors, the economy, suppliers, politicians and more, and identify new opportunities?One way is through the process of “war gaming,” according to John Horn, professor of practice in economics at Washington University’s Olin Business School and author of the forthcoming book, “Inside the competitor’s mindset: How to predict their next move and position yourself for success.

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Last week, China announced that it would roll back its long-standing “zero-COVID-19 policies,” which included constant tests, quarantines and lockdowns. The decision was a dramatic concession following weeks of protests nationwide.The lingering question is what happens next. Will the decision be enough to appease protestors and put an end to President Xi Jinping’s woes? Or, have these protests sparked a new thirst for activism and political change?  Below, Zhao Ma, an associate professor of modern Chinese history and culture in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St.

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To much of the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions leading up to and since the invasion of Ukraine have often appeared unpredictable and illogical. For example, when faced with embarrassing military setbacks, Putin doubled down with a massive military mobilization rather than looking for an exit strategy — as most assumed he would do.

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Voters in this year’s midterm elections, to be held nationwide Nov. 8, will be motivated by a number of hot-button issues, including abortion, climate change, voting rights, the economy and more.Here, Washington University in St. Louis faculty experts weigh in on some of the issues that will be top of voters’ minds as they head to the polls.

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Putting the politics of the decision aside, the Supreme Court's Dobbs ruling was an enormous loss for the Court itself, producing a sizable — perhaps an unprecedented — dent in public support for the institution, new research from Washington University in St. Louis shows.

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It’s that time of year again. The days are getting shorter, and the nights are cooling down. But when will the natural fireworks display of autumn leaves actually begin this year?Many people believe that climate change is pushing back the start of fall leaf color to later in the year. The general thinking is that the warmer conditions anticipated under climate change will mean that trees can “hang on” to their green, energy-producing leaves longer.

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The increasing demand for electric vehicles and cell phones has accelerated the need for safer energy storage after numerous instances of commercial lithium-ion batteries overheating and catching fire. Peng Bai, assistant professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St.

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The increasing demand for electric vehicles and cell phones has accelerated the need for safer energy storage after numerous instances of commercial lithium-ion batteries overheating and catching fire. Peng Bai, assistant professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St.

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John Horn, an economics expert at Washington University in St. Louis, explains the math of inflation and why focusing on the annual rate of change, rather than month-to-month inflation changes, makes an already bad situation look worse.

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On Aug. 2, voters in Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington will vote in their states’ primary elections. Thirteen more states will hold primary elections through August and September.In many districts where the general election isn’t competitive, the outcomes of these primary elections likely will decide who wins in November.

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Yevgeniy Vorobeychik doesn’t know exactly what sentience is. Since he’s an engineer, not a philosopher, Vorobeychik can’t say what it’s like to be a bat  or a tree or a rock. He can’t quantify the importance of embodiment to consciousness. He’s not even sure that there’s an inherent problem with people reacting to an artificial intelligence in ways similar to how they react to other people.

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Experts from Washington University in St. Louis offer perspectives on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the impact it will have on American law, people and politics.

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While the ruling in the Maine case is unsurprising giving the court’s recent decisions around freedom of religion, some of the rhetoric around the case misrepresents the role of constitutional protections for religion in a pluralistic society, said John Inazu, expert on law and religion at Washington University in St. Louis.

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If Florida’s action to strip Walt Disney World of its status as a special tax district is indeed retaliatory against the company for its opposition to the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, as critics call it, then Florida has plainly violated the First Amendment, said a constitutional law expert at Washington University in St.

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In the wake of the slap heard ‘round the world — actor Will Smith’s blow to comedian Chris Rock’s left cheek — scholars in the business of entertainment in the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis say the situation is shot through with reputational risk.But not where you might think.

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On March 21, President Biden issued an urgent warning to American business leaders to strengthen their companies’ cyber defenses immediately. In recent weeks, experts have been surprised by the lack of full-scale cyberattacks by Russia. But the threat of devastating cyberattacks is still very real and American companies and individuals must remain vigilant, warned Liberty Vittert, professor of practice of data science at Washington University’s Olin Business School.

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The United States Senate’s passing of a resolution supporting a war crimes investigation into Russian President Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine adds to an international call to hold Putin accountable for Russia’s actions.The invasion gives rise to a real concern not only about breaches of international law for which the Russian Federation might be liable, but about liability of individuals for international crimes, said Leila Sadat, the James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law and Special Adviser on Crimes Against Humanity to the International Criminal Court prosecutor.

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International business experts John Horn and Patrick Moreton offer their perspectives on the developing situation with China, including challenges facing the country and what impact their actions could have on the Chinese and global economies.

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The Senate approved on March 10 a $1.5 trillion bipartisan spending package, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called “the strongest, boldest and most significant government funding package we’ve seen in a long time.” The spending package, which is expected to be signed by President Joe Biden, includes $18.

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If President Joe Biden follows through on his promise to nominate a Black woman to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, longer-term change to the court is possible, based on voting patterns of Black female judges versus white male judges, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.The study, “Replacing Justice Breyer,” suggests that in the near term, the court’s center of power is unlikely to shift to the left, given that the list of possible Biden nominees is ideologically close to Breyer.

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After months of anticipation, failed negotiations and broken promises, Russia launched a wide-scale military attack on Ukraine on Thursday, Feb. 24.Yet questions remain regarding Vladimir Putin’s motivation. Is he concerned about Western influence in neighboring Ukraine raising security concerns at home? Does he want to take over Ukraine? Is he deflecting attention from Russia’s domestic problems?“Some combination of these is surely part of the answer, but another little-discussed factor is also at work,” James Wertsch wrote in an op-ed published Feb.

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is expected to have another challenging year processing returns, given an anticipated uptick in audits of refundable credits like the Advance Child Tax Credit. The best advice? File as early as possible, says a tax law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.“Taxpayers are going to be navigating with an overburdened — and often unresponsive — IRS this filing season,” said Sarah Narkiewicz, director of the School of Law’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, which provides free representation and advice to low-income St.

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