Thesis Corner: Annie Vela

Alex Shaw (AS): Annie, first, what was your thesis about? Annie Vela (AV):  My thesis was about US government changing allocation of funding from public prisons to public education. AS: How did you arrive at this topic? AV: When Kate (Stirling) asked us to start thinking of a topic over the summer, I started thinking about which of my economics classes I really enjoyed my Urban Economics class with Bruce Mann, which I loved. I’m very interested in how economic policy tangibly affects actual people. So I thought about topics that focused on people, and education is super important to Continue reading Thesis Corner: Annie Vela

Private vs. Public Investments for Infrastructure: The Constant Battle

Recently, I discussed why a private investment in building the Seattle arena made sense for the major parties involved (especially the citizens). I have been involved in many heated discussions about why public investments in arenas/stadiums are very frustrating but won’t get to deep into that right now. The main conclusion is that either the city that has the team will cough up the money or the owner will relocate to a different city since the city officials are willing to pay the cost of having the team. The owners will always have the power to have public investment unless there is Continue reading Private vs. Public Investments for Infrastructure: The Constant Battle

Spotify Strives to Secure Cheaper Licensing Deals Ahead of Possible IPO Launch

Digital streaming services that provide music and video to their users are becoming more and more commonplace, and as such it is no surprise that content creators are always looking to partner with the service that with give them the most lucrative deal. This leads to fierce competition between streaming services as they vie for the most popular content, while attempting to keep their own costs down. In an age where artists and content creators are somewhat spoiled for choice, the small differences between different services can often make or break a deal. Such is the case for the immensely Continue reading Spotify Strives to Secure Cheaper Licensing Deals Ahead of Possible IPO Launch