‘Politics overshadowed real economic concerns,’ says Northwestern finance professor

Northwestern University professors are available to comment on the $2 trillion stimulus package reached by the Senate and the White House in response to the COVID-19crisis. The Senate is expected to vote on the package Wednesday afternoon. The legislation includes provisions for industries, cities, states, hospitals, unemployment insurance benefits and individual checks to many Americans.  

Professors from economics, the Kellogg School of Management and the School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) are available to comment. 

Phillip Braun, a clinical professor of finance at Kellogg, is an expert on the economy, specializing in the study of emerging market economies and financial markets. He can be reached by contacting Molly Lynch at molly@lynchgrouponline.com.

Quote from Professor Braun
“Two trillion dollars, that is crazy! Is it probably too much? Yes. Why so much? Because of the uncertainty around which policies will really affect the economy. Politics overshadowed real economic concerns. There are many aspects of the stimulus bill that have more to do with this fall’s election than boosting the economy, such as the $500 billion corporate give away.”

Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, director of Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research and the Margaret Walker Alexander Professor of Human Development and Social Policy at SESP, can speak to media about impacts on low-income populations in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and the importance of inclusion of food assistance in the stimulus bill. She can be reached at dws@northwestern.edu.

Schanzenbach argues that increasing food purchasing power should be a central part of any COVID-19 stimulus package and provides policy responses tailored to the pandemic to support food security.

Quote from Professor Schanzenbach
“Right now, we need to focus our economic policies on mitigating harm to people and boosting the economy. There are smart ways to use SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to stimulate the economy and protect the most vulnerable.” 

Matthew Notowidigdo is a professor of economics in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a faculty fellow with the University’s Institute for Policy Research. He studies a broad set of topics in labor and health economics. He can be reached at noto@northwestern.edu and can comment on the following:

 • Effects of stimulus checks
 • Unemployment dynamics, long-term unemployment
 • Unemployment insurance
 • Need to simplify the safety net in addition to expanding it