Author Archives: Victoria Helmer

Unretirement

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Unretirement is once again trending up and returning to levels that we haven’t seen since before the pandemic. Unretirement is a phenomenon in which someone who retires enters back into the labor market within a year. The unretirement rate reached 3.2 percent last month, compared to pandemic levels of just 2 percent. The image below shows the unretirement rate from 2019 to 2022.  The rise in unretirement could be attributed to several factors including the rising cost of living, rising inflation, and the return to in person events following shutdowns caused by the pandemic. Plus because the current job market Continue reading Unretirement→

Mental Health and Job Satisfaction by Shirley Mazsltov-Ast: Senior thesis highlight

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In honor of graduation, I spoke with graduating Economics and BLP major Shirley Mazsltov-Ast about her senior thesis. Her thesis examined the effects of depression on job satisfaction. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the Bureau of Labor Statistics she explored the correlation between one’s reported depression and job satisfaction. Her findings indicate that there is a significant correlation between mental health and job satisfaction, with individuals who reported being “depressed” and “down or blue” being less satisfied with their jobs.  Shirley hopes that when reading her thesis people leave with one major takeaway “mental health matters” and Continue reading Mental Health and Job Satisfaction by Shirley Mazsltov-Ast: Senior thesis highlight→

Gender-based Price Discrimination

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The Pink Tax refers to the extra cost added to goods that are targeted towards women. Named for the color traditionally used to market products to women, the Pink Tax primarily affects personal hygienic products like razors, hair products, and other beauty products. While these products don’t need to be gendered, marketers tend to target these products based on gender and upcharge women for similar or the same products. Brands have also been known to limit the product size for women in a strategy called ‘pink it or shrink it’. When analyzing products such as deodorant, razors, body wash, and Continue reading Gender-based Price Discrimination→

The Hidden Cost of Social Media: Part 2

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Click here to read part one Human trafficking is a growing crime that is part of an estimated $150 billion dollar industry. While the victims of human trafficking recruited through social media are only a small portion of the 16,000 estimated human trafficking victims in the U.S. every year, the number of victims recruited through social media is probably much higher than the confirmed cases. This is due to human trafficking victims’ unwillingness to report to authorities. Unfortunately, human traffickers are using social media not only as a recruitment method but also as a way to distribute explicit content from Continue reading The Hidden Cost of Social Media: Part 2→

The Hidden Cost of Social Media: Part One

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The world has never been more connected than it is now. With over 3.7 billion users of social media, so many functions of the world that used to take place in person have shifted online. Through social media, users find community, build relationships with virtual strangers, and obtain jobs. In fact, social media is so widely used that it has become a popular tool for human traffickers. Social media is not authentic. Instead, social media allows users to present any version of themselves to the world, no matter how false that presentation is. Because social media allows users to hide Continue reading The Hidden Cost of Social Media: Part One→

America’s Competitive Advantage: How Economists View Immigration

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For three years I worked at Tacoma Refugee Choir, a choir composed of refugees, immigrants, and community members, who write and perform original songs. While the choir generated primarily positive feedback and comments, there were moments when the choir experienced xenophobia rooted in fear and misconceptions surrounding immigration. Since many of these misconceptions surround immigrants’ effect on the economy, I felt it was important to view immigration through the lens of an economic student. Immigration is a long-debated topic in American society that divides and polarizes conversation. Common misconceptions surrounding immigration have caused many Americans to support building a wall Continue reading America’s Competitive Advantage: How Economists View Immigration→