Barbie Knows How to Run a Business

Scrolling through my Instagram feed, I saw the hijabi, Olympian fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad partnering with the biggest brand from my childhood: Barbie. As a young girl, I never imagined a hijabi barbie, let alone one that wasn’t white and blonde. I decided to look further into what Muhammad was promoting. Together, Barbie and Airbnb created a life-sized Barbie Dream House, complete with an infinity pool, memorabilia-filled rooms, and fencing lessons from Muhammad herself.

Life-sized Barbie Dream House, available for rent on Airbnb.

The sixty-year-old Barbie brand is adapting to changing society and capitalizing on some of the biggest trends of this generation. With a growing focus on diversity, strategic partnerships, and a mastery of media, Barbie is more than just a toy, it’s an empire.

Barbie Bimbo is No More

Source: Rehab.com

Barbie’s history with diversity is a rocky one. The brand has received far too many hate messages about it’s severely ill-proportioned doll. As shown on the figure to the right, obtaining a “Barbie body” is quite literally impossible. In real life, her neck would not be able to support her head, her waist can fit half of a liver and a few inches of intestines, and she would be unable to walk with her child’s foot size of 3.

People complain about skinny, photoshopped models depicting unrealistic body expectations, but Barbie was the worst culprit, with 92% of impressionable, American girls looking to her impossible figure. As millennial women became mothers, they decided that Barbie was unacceptable for their children. Thus, according to this Times Article, Barbie sales dropped 20% between 2012 and 2014. The brand’s sales were overtaken both by Lego, encouraging girls to build, and Hasbro’s strong, independent “Elsa” doll dominating the market. Barbie knew it had to adapt to survive.

Barbie measurements compared to models and anorexics (Rehab.com)

How, you might ask? Barbie realized that diversity is selling in today’s society. Girls like me never used to see themselves reflected in toys, on television, or in power. But today, people like Nasim Pedrad, Jameela Jamil, and Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are dominating the news cycles. Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, and Rhianna are leading a movement to represent a more curvaceous body type. As a result, Barbie began to release dolls of different races, hair colors, and occupations. In 2016, Barbie made the biggest, most complex move of all: They introduced four new body types. 

Now, you can get Barbie in Tall, Petite, and Curvy, along with the original doll. There are 7 skin tones, 22 eye colors, and 27 hair styles, according to CNN. Most recently, Barbie released specially designed dolls that come with a wheelchair or prosthetic leg. The “Career Dolls” feature women as marine biologists, astrophysicists, and engineers. Gone are the moments like October in 1992 when the “Teen Talk” Barbie was made to say “math class is tough.” Women’s empowerment is the new chic, and Barbie is taking notes. 

Barbie Knows How to Make Friends

Ibtihaj Muhammad Barbie Doll

Mattel and Barbie have well-placed strategic partnerships. They came out with their “Role Models” campaign in 2015, featuring dolls created in the likeness of amazing women in politics, science, athletics, and so much more. Some role models are not famous, as is the case with Iwona Blecharczyk, a professional truck driver from Poland. But in choosing celebrities like Gabby Douglas, Ibtihaj Muhammad, and Naomi Osaka, Barbie is bringing a vast amount of positive media attention to their company. 

Ashley Graham Barbie Doll

In my opinion, their best celebrity partnership is Ashley Graham. As one of the leading activists in the body positivity movement, she is a social media sensation and famous supermodel. Her  9.4 million followers love her, and have propelled her into landing jobs with Vogue Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, and the coveted Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover. Adding Graham as a role model in 2016 helped launch Barbie’s body positivity line in the most millennial-centric way possible.

Barbie has learned to partner with more than just individuals. The aforementioned Airbnb partnership brought extensive media attention to both companies, and Airbnb donated to the Barbie Dream Gap Project, helping girls achieve greatness. This was truly a genius move, and one of the most creative marketing ploys I’ve seen in a long time. 

Barbie on Screen

Barbie is quite possibly the most technologically savvy doll there is. Her Instagram is worth following, with a colorful feed and engaging posts. Barbie wants you to interact with her by answering questions and sharing stories on Instagram. She posts about celebrities like BTS and provides exciting videos geared to younger teen audiences. One of the most recent posts was the “We’re Taking Over” music video.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B4nS1kiFrjV/

The video features some of the most Insta-famous dancers from Dance Moms, Disney Channel, and other famous studios. The message is rooted in female empowerment, showing girls becoming president and other high profile leadership roles. While this video is too annoying for my 19-year-old senses to handle, it’s perfect for the age group they’re targeting. By using relatable influencers, a great message, and fun music, Barbie is bringing an exciting flavor to her Instagram profile, and you can watch the whole video via IGTV.

Barbie can also be found on the television screen. One day, I walked into my friends house and found her watching Barbie: Life in a Dreamhouse on Netflix. She said, “it’s kinda good.” My friend was not Barbie’s target audience, but there she was, interacting with the Barbie brand at eighteen. If someone searches “Barbie” on Netflix, he or she will find countless mini series and movies featuring the iconic doll. She doesn’t just dominate social media, she’s on your Netflix feed as well.

What’s the bottom line? Having a sixty-year-old brand plagued with controversy isn’t the end-all be-all. You can bounce back and assert yourself in the industry for years to come. It’s all about looking at your customers and determining exactly what will make the dollars flow into your pocket. Does a six-year-old care if Barbie partners with Ibtihaj Muhammad? No, but the mommy with the wallet most certainly will.

Sources:

Apple Fights Housing Crisis

In addition to Apple’s announcement of the new “Airpods Pro”, last week, Apple announced that they are making a $2.5 billion pledge to help ease the egregious cost of living in California, particularly in the Silicon Valley area.

The Plan 

As part of this announcement, Apple laid out a five-point course of action that includes $1 billion for affordable housing investment fund, $1 billion in mortgage assistance for first-time home buyers and in addition, opening up 40 acres of Apple-owned land, valued at around $300 million, for affordable housing. Apple stated that the remaining $200 million will be given to a San Francisco Affordable Housing fund and additionally, surrounding vulnerable cities. While the severity of the housing crisis, in both the Bay Area and California as a whole, is urgent and rapidly increasing, Apple’s plan will take two years to reach completion–depending on the availability of projects, that is. That being said, money made on the projects will be reinvested in future projects over the coming five years. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Overall, Apple believes that their efforts will give the state of California an open credit line to build more houses and suppress the economic constraints that large tech companies have plagued regions like Bay Area, and many more, with. The financial package was created in partnership with California Governer Gavin Newsom, who pledged to inspire the “biggest wave of homebuilding in modern history.” 

Other Tech Companies Participate

Seeing as Apple is not alone in contributing to the housing crisis, other large tech companies have pledged and drafted similar initiatives and programs. This past June, Google pledged $1 billion to “redevelop company-owned land for affordable housing” and additionally, created an investment fund to attract developers to construct, at minimum, 5,000 affordable housing units in Silicon Valley. In January, Facebook partnered with an organization to raise $500 million aimed at fighting the housing crisis in California. Beyond the Bay Area, companies like Microsoft and Amazon have publicly stated that they would funnel funds towards affordable housing initiatives in Seattle (where they are headquarted).

The Housing Crisis

So what’s the issue at play here? Currently, in San Francisco, 7,000 people are homeless and in San Jose, the average home value is $1 million–double the price from 2012. With an influx of tech companies and high-paid workers flooding into both San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area neighborhoods, a shortage of affordable rent and housing options have crowded out middle and low-income workers (See Graph Below for Average Home Sale Prices). As a result, five Bay Area counties have been named five out of the six most expensive places to live in the country. Those who’ve fallen victim to this phenomenon include: teachers, restaurant workers and a multitude of people working blue collar jobs. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook stated “Affordable housing means stability and dignity, opportunity and pride. When these things fall out of reach for too many, we know the course we are on is unsustainable, and Apple is committed to being part of the solution.” Apple, clearly, is aware that as a juggernaut in the tech industry, their power and success have sweeping social and economic effects on the markets and economies surrounding their businesses headquarters. While IPO’s of tech companies and an increase in tech employees have driven up home values and rent prices in regions like the Bay Area, some of the housing costs issues are fed by problems in which companies like Facebook and Apple are not directly responsible. For example, San Jose, a city of 1.035 million people, has issued over 1,300 housing permits for residential buildings in the first half of 2019, however only 134 are for affordable housing. This poses as a threat to the completion of tech companies efforts aimed at helping the issue. George Ratiu, a senior economist at Realtor.com, cautions that at this pace, the 20,000 units that Facebook envisioned might actually take years and years to complete. Because construction isn’t keeping up with demand and housing prices are steadily increasing, people are leaving. In a direct response to the Bay Area housing issues, many have relocated to cities like Austin, Texas or Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Too Little Too Late

While it’s only right that companies accountable have begun to try and reverse the effects they’ve had on the housing market, economists and scholars warn that they might’ve come flying to the rescue a little too late. Vice President of Market Economics at Auction.com Daren Blomquist warns that because of the time it takes to build more houses and inventory, these companies might be too late. In an interview with MarketWatch, Blomquist stated “Even if ground was broken tomorrow on the new affordable housing being promised, that housing wouldn’t likely be available for at least another year, if not more.” Senator Bernie Sanders even said that apples entrance into the real estate lending industry is an attempt to dilute the fact that they helped create the current housing crisis. 

While the amount of money that these large companies have donated is rather large and worthy of recognition, some believe that it’s just a dollar short. MarketPlace notes that the public housing issue needs an injection of around $50-70 billion dollars on a national level. To this end, experts accept the money with open arms, but they know that it won’t be the end all be all for the housing crisis. 

The Ideal Solution

So what’s the correct answer? While the insane amount of donations that tech companies have pledged will surely have an impact, the true solution extends way further than donations. Beyond investing in construction, critics have acknowledged just how integral it is that all groups–businesses, community members, government actors– work together in fighting this issue. Having just the private sector involved in determining the supply of housing could actually increase housing prices all together and furthermore, in the end, it really won’t benefit companies to become reliant on tech juggernauts to save the day with large donations in the face of a crisis. 

Perhaps more effective would be if policymakers worked together to address zoning and building regulations. More specifically, the same regulations and zoning practices that have delayed developer’s agency in building new homes. Seeing as tech companies have a rather large public platform to vocalize a political and social voice, perhaps tech companies could publicly exert pressure on state and local law agents to loosen the above regulations. If they threaten to leave the area or usurp previously mentioned donations should these regulations persist, lawmakers might actually reassess and address the current housing regulations. 

Going forward, tech companies should be proactive rather than reactive. For example, housing developers have to pay a fee that supports the construction of affordable housing in the city of Mountain View (located near Silicon Valley). To allow housing developers to buy land before prices shot up, LinkedIn made this money available two years in advance to the actual construction. If Apple, Facebook and Google look into the future to draft proactive measures, they might be able to circumnavigate the existence of future problems instead of addressing them after the fact. 

Sources

  1. https://www.kjrh.com/news/national/apple-will-spend-2-5-billion-to-help-solve-californias-housing-crisis
  2. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-21/gavin-newsom-california-housing-crisis-solution
  3. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-facebook-google-and-amazon-are-putting-billions-of-dollars-toward-affordable-housing-but-that-money-may-be-too-little-too-late-2019-11-08

Venezuela’s extreme economic collapse!


The president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro

Venezuela’s debt has doubled in only one year!

Venezuela has been in the news over their economic collapse for the past couple of years. Some economists and historians have even deemed Venezeulas economic collapse as the biggest in decades outside of war. Most recently, Venezuela hit the news as their national debt doubled in one year and is not almost double the level of the country’s GDP. As Simon Constable says in his Forbes.com article “Venezeula Sinks Further into Oblivion” “At the end of the second quarter, total borrowing[in Venezuela] reached 198.4 percent of GDP”(Constable). When businesses and household debt become included in debt, the total debt comes out to be 221 percent of GDP.


Venezuelan citizens protesting the president and other government officials.




Hyperinflation is at 9,072 percent!

You read that right! Another economic indicator that is plaguing the Venezuelan economy is its 9,072 percent inflation rate! Well at least its better than deflation right? Only if you can recover from 9,072 percent worth of inflation! Foreign investors have placed such high interests rates on Venezuela’s lackluster cryptocurrency- the Petro which also further raises in the inflation rate and debt since it is impossible for Venezuela to pay their debt back. Venezuela has also taken out massive loans of 63 billion dollars from China since 2007, which also looks like they will not pay back anytime soon. Also, since 2016, every quarter has produced double-digit declines in GDP. Furthermore, when inflation was at 7,000 percent, President Maduro implemented a policy to eliminate the zeros from paper Bolivar bills so that a ten thousand Bolivar bill would be now worth ten. This further raised inflation and caused more economic turmoil. It is also important to note that the 9,072 percent inflation rate is just right now and the total inflation rate is expected to eclipse 15 million percent by the end of the year.

Why is Venezuela in this economic collapse if they have the most oil-rich country in the world?

You read that correctly. Venezuela, in the biggest non-war related economic collapse in decades, has the most oil reserves of any other country in the world. So how are they in crisis with an extremely valuable resource in oil? Well, that is a great question and is a big factor of why the Venezuelan citizens are so critical of the people in power. In fact, the only reason why Venezuela is not recovering from the economic collapse is because not only is President Maduro taking most of the money and resources in for himself, but also the actual leading oil company in the country, PDVSA, is so terribly run.

Conclusion

One of the many violent Venezuelan protests this year.

In conclusion, Venezuela is not just in an economic collapse, but also a political one. Because the country has virtually no assets or wealth, besides their terribly run oil reserves which aren’t helping decrease inflation, civilians are starving and homeless, while the political leaders use the mere money and resources left to live lavishly. To fix this issue, first off President Maduro needs to be out of office, and a new economically driven candidate can be elected to at least stop hyperinflation from getting worse. The head of PDVSA needs to be fired so the resource-rich company can promote value within Venezuela.

Inflation on the rise? China’s CPI rises to near eight-year high

In October, China’s consumer-price index rose 3.8% compared to last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday — higher than a median of 3.5% predicted by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, and far outpacing September’s 3.0%.

China Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The Consumer Price Index or CPI measures changes in the prices paid by consumers for a basket of goods and services. It is widely used as an economic indicator. And It is the most widely used measure of inflation and the effectiveness of the government’s economic policy.

According to data released by NBS, “food/tabacco/wine” has the greatest increase, 11.4%, among all other categories. And among all food categories, pork price has the most significant jump: it rises 101.3%, accounting for 2.43 percentage points in the increase of the CPI.

A doubling of pork prices sent Chinese consumer inflation to its highest level in nearly eight years, constraining Beijing’s ability to stimulate the economy as growth continues to slow.

Soaring pork prices lifted overall food-price inflation to a more-than-11 year high, as consumer demand drove up prices for pork alternatives including eggs and other meat products. And the reason behind the price spike was African swine fever, a highly contagious virus that is lethal to pigs but not to humans.

During this summer, I worked as a reporter at “The Paper,” one of China’s most influential digital news outlets. And one of the investigative stories I worked on was about the outbreak of the African swine fever in Chinese rural villages in Jiangsu Province. Dozens of villagers reported large-scale death of pigs due to the disease. The videos they shot showed countless dead pigs abandoned by both sides of the road or in the ditch. They told me that “nearly all the pigs in the village died overnight.”

As a result, they sold the only surviving pigs at a very low price to reduce loss. Some of them sold the dead pigs at an even lower price. This contributed to a declining producer-price index (PPI) — pork-related products could buy the raw pork at a better price. However, the disease caused a sudden decline of pork available to the public and the demand for pork suddenly grow exponentially. Therefore, the CPI increased in response.

Another interesting trend I have noticed during my investigation was that the Chinese government has been trying really hard to cover the fact that the African swine fever has taken over. My story received a prior restraint and did not get published successfully dut to government censorship. During the first months of the outbreak, there was fairly less coverage of the disease in the mainstream media. On one hand, the government officials have announced in public that the fever has been eliminated, and they did not want the public to distrust them. On the other hand, admitting the disease would create a public disturbance that could further push down the pork prices. 

However, if the PRC does not address the issue directly and keep avoiding the topic, the situation will continue to worsen and push the CPI to a dangerous level.

While the prices charged by retailers to consumers are in an inflationary spiral, prices China’s factories charge to their clients are in a deflationary spiral. China’s PPI, seen as a key indicator of corporate profitability, dropped 1.6% into the deflationary territory from a year earlier, marking the steepest decline since July 2016. And it’s the result of both demand and supply pressures on the Chinese economy.

On the demand side, the exports weakened because of a slowing global economy and the ongoing trade war with America. Exports from China declined by 0.9% year-on-year to $212.93 billion in October of 2019, following a plunge of 3.2% in September, according to Tradingeconomics.com.

On the supply side, there’s excess factory capacity, due to the building of factories that practically duplicate each other, as discussed in a previous piece here. These factories churn out similar products and engage in a price war.

The increased CPI and decreased PPI may foresee inflation for China, and the Chinese government has to address the issue involved in order to get things back on track for 2020.

Reference:

2019年10月份居民消费价格同比上涨3.8%. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/zxfb/201911/t20191109_1708139.html.

“China Consumer Price Index (CPI).” China Consumer Price Index (CPI) | 2019 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast, https://tradingeconomics.com/china/consumer-price-index-cpi.

MarketWatch. “China’s Consumer Inflation Hits Nearly 8-Year High.” MarketWatch, 11 Nov. 2019, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-consumer-inflation-hits-nearly-8-year-high-2019-11-10.

Mourdoukoutas, Panos. “China’s Price Trap.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2019/11/10/chinas-price-trap/#ecf1c105454d.

Daryl Morey vs. the World

Hailing from Baraboo, Wisconsin, Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey was on  top of the world. By relying on statistical analysis and the true shooting percentage stat, he has built the Houston Rockets basketball team into an NBA powerhouse. They have made the playoffs every year since 2012, a feat only two other teams have accomplished in team history. Morey has made some of the biggest signings of all time by securing James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, and many more players to long term deals.

The Houston Rockets have maintained their strong international presence created by the 2000s, and opened the door for the first Chinese star in the NBA by drafting Yao Ming in 2002. Now, James Harden is the 3rd highest selling jersey in China, where the NBA is the most popular sports league. According to Vox, more people watch NBA games in China than in the U.S. The NBA has built its reputation as a global league primarily through China as a touchpoint, creating hundreds of millions in revenue through merchandise sales and countless fans through Chinese NBA exhibition games. The economic and cultural stakes of the NBA’s relationship with China are no light burden. 

And then with a single tweet having nothing to do with basketball, Daryl Morey threatened to collapse the NBA’s massive commercial market in China. The owner of the very team that first struck superfandom in Chinese basketball fans hearts, became a major enemy of the Chinese corporations that air NBA games. He tweeted, “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.” While Morey may have tweeted with good intentions and used his American right to speak freely, China saw his tweet as a rebellion effort and insult to their country. China’s biggest airer of NBA games, Tencent, put all Rockets broadcasts on hold. Chinese fans were outraged by Morey’s comments and seeming insensitivity to China’s stake in the Hong Kong protests. The NBA sent out two statements, one apologizing to China for Morey’s “wrong” actions, and one acknolwedging the situation to the U.S. public. This did not go over smoothly, as both sides could read the other, and recognized the NBA trying to pander to sentiments to maintain a sense of peace (and keep their flow of profit). Morey has since removed his tweet, and kept quiet about the whole situation. 

This speaks to the larger trickiness present in U.S.-China trade in the age of social media. With a few words Morey probably didn’t think twice about, he threatened the balance of a billion dollar industry in which billions of people across the globe participate. Daryl Morey has found support from those who are unhappy about Chinese censorship’s power over American industries, which is exemplary of the American government’s current sentiments towards trade with China. 

This situation is unfortunate because the global commerce, sponsorship, and ambassadorial pursuits of the NBA have built up so much momentum in the past few years, and Morey’s tweet may set that progress back. Though this doesn’t drastically affect the trade war, upsetting the titanic corporation of Tencent does upset the hundreds of millions of viewers who lose out on NBA games and American corporations who stand to make huge profit on sponsorship deals. 

Sources: 

https://www.si.com/nba/2019/08/16/rockets-daryl-morey-james-harden-better-shooter-michael-jordan

Wineconomics: Climate Change

One of many chateaus in Bordeaux, France

In 2018, my family and I took a trip to Bordeaux, France, a region that prides itself for world-class wine. We visited multiple chateaus that looked like miniature palaces from the 19thcentury. On the outside, they were extravagant and radiated quite a historic glow. On the inside, they were surprisingly minimalistic: fermenting cylinders, labyrinth cellars, and reception offices. Each chateau representative we have talked to offered a unique insight into why their chateau’s wine is better than the neighbor’s. Organic growing techniques, hand-picked grapes, land, sun, shade, grape mix all play a role in making the best quality wine. Interestingly, it is the land and regional weather patterns that decide who gets to produce the best wine. As I learned during my tour, Petrusis among the top vineyards in Bordeaux with an average price of $2,895 for a bottle of wine. Why? It’s the land. Recently, however, the wine industry, not just in France but all over the world, has been changing due to human-induced climate volatility. Climate change already affects crop yield, geographical preferences, and quality of wine among other things. What does is it mean for the wine industry in economic terms and what does it mean for consumers?

Wine cellar in one of the many chateaus in Bordeaux

When thinking about an economy of a region or a country wine may seem like a miscellaneous factor, yet the world’s elite and wine enthusiasts have turned this alcoholic beverage into a portfolio investment diversification that brings in millions of dollars in profit. Cult Wines, a U.K. wine portfolio manager, in fact, returns 13% on wine investments annually. Wine has become a status symbol and fierce competition between the world’s renown vineries has encouraged an appreciation in value and rapid industry growth. In 2018, the global wine market had a total value of $302 billion and it is expected to rise to $450 billion by 2024. That’s more than 3 times the GDP of Ukraine. In 2016, the California wine industry output was $57.6 billion (2.3% of California’s GDP in 2016). This is not a major economic driver; however, the Californian wine industry is responsible for 786,387 jobs nationwide of which 325,000 are based in California alone.  

The wine industry is a particularly interesting area to investigate under the economic and environmental spotlight because in some cases it defies what one might think of climate change. Regions, that were once unsuitable for producing high-quality wine, such as Mosel and Rhine Valleys in Germany can now make world-class wine. According to research conducted by two professors from Princeton and NYU, in the 3C warming scenario, the value of vineyards in Mosel Valley may double while revenues may rise by 180%. As temperatures rise the northern regions of France and Germany will generally produce higher quality wine which is good news for Bordeaux. Studies show that a 1C increase in temperature leads to a 61.1% increase in price for Grand Cru Bordeaux wines. Sounds like climate change is good news? Not so fast. If the temperatures keep rising California may produce worse quality wine. Additionally, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2000) A2 scenario, the total area suitable for growing grapes in the U.S. will shrink from 4.1 million square kilometers to 3.5 million square kilometers by the end of the 21stcentury. Given that the California wine industry is so ubiquitous in the U.S. and employs over 700,000 people nationwide the rising temperatures will pose a significant challenge to Napa vineyards. Changing wildfire patterns will also pose an economic threat to the industry. Fortunately, rising temperatures are a long-term phenomenon that leaves plenty of room for vineyards to adapt by shifting harvest seasons and employing extensive irrigation techniques. 

There are, of course, limitations to the accuracy of economic forecasts, and it is too early to say what the true impact on the industry will be. One thing is certain – Petrus is still going to be expensive and there will be no shortage of fine wine in the near future. 

Sources:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-19/why-the-best-investment-vehicle-is-one-you-can-drink

https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/wine-market

https://ideas.repec.org/a/tpr/restat/v92y2010i2p333-349.html

https://academic.oup.com/reep/article/10/1/25/2583835

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/14/dining/drinks/climate-change-wine.html

https://winesvinesanalytics.com/features/article/173240/Economic-Impact-of-California-Wine-114Bhttps://scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1419&context=honors

Plant-Based Meat Companies ‘Beefing’ up their Presence in the American Economy

In the past few years that has been a sudden boom in the plant-based meat industry. The trend has become so popular that many of your favorite fast-food chains have deals cut out with the big name brands such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meats. With chains releasing new plant-based menu items recently, it has shown that the potential for this industry may have not hit its peak quite yet.  

According to reports by the Plant-Based Food Association, sales from plant-based foods in 2018 were higher than $3 billion. Despite all the excitement and craze for plant-based meats, many are still skeptical that this isn’t going to help drive revenue for fast food chains. With a reduced number of beef products hitting the shelf, the benefits for our ecosystem are positive but this will come at the cost of the farmers who have dedicated their lives to the industry. Plant-based products have the opportunity to completely change the fast-food market but will leave behind the cattle farmers in doing so.

In October, following the addition of the “Impossible Whopper” to their menu, Burger King’s parent company Restaurant Brands saw a 5% rise in sales for the quarter which is the highest growth the company has seen since 2015. Burger chains weren’t the only ones to capitalize on the hype. As for fast-food giant KFC, the company partnered up with Beyond Meat for a plant-based chicken nugget. The chain test trialed the product at an Atlanta location and it sold out in the same month it was released.

The repercussions of the meat industry are evident with a rise in deforestation due to cattle as well as the carbon emissions in the atmosphere. But many benefits show us that we should not cut out beef entirely.

Cows essentially convert cellulosic energy which is then turned into a tasty meal that can be consumed by humans.  According to Frank Mitloehner of UC Davis, half of all land in California is marginal land and without cattle, you could not use that land and that two-thirds of all agricultural land could not be used for food production for people. In addition to that the excretions from cows help fertilize the soil which helps to bring us the best quality of crops to consume.

Around the world consumption for meat is still on the incline but as for the United States and the United Kingdom, the “meat peak” may have been reached in 2010. The alternative meat industry is proving that this “fad” isn’t going away anytime soon. The cattle industry is going to need a major re-adjustment for their business model now that the fast-food chains are going to be the central distributor for their products. The stigma of a different kind of fake meat has now turned into a positive market ploy for the chains to stay relevant in a culture seeing a rise in vegans.

Additional Sources

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/28/investing/restaurant-brands-earnings-burger-king-popeyes/index.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/18/meatless-alternatives-are-on-the-rise-so-is-global-meat-consumption.html

The Price of Love: The Economic Impact of Valentine’s Day

There is no doubt about it: February is a rough month to be single. With retailers everywhere fueling Valentine’s Day, one can’t help but feel at least a little left out. But who is Valentine’s Day really for? In theory, it is to celebrate your loved ones, especially your significant other. In practice, however, many feel that Valentine’s Day is more for consumerism and retailers more than anyone else. With companies and retailers making massive profits every February, Valentine’s Day has been dubbed a Hallmark Holiday, curated to make people feel like they need to spend money to prove their love. In fact, one 1994 study surveyed 105 men “found that though they primarily associated a feeling of love or friendship with Valentine’s Day, a sense of obligation was a close second.” (theatlantic.com). With the percent of people planning on participating in Valentine’s Day hitting an all time low in 2019 (only 51% of people), it is clear that individuals aren’t buying gifts because they want to, but because they feel like they have to. 

Retailers everywhere embrace Valentine’s Day with full force in hopes of making a profit from the increased consumer spending of the season.

But just how much are people spending out of obligation? As it turns out, quite a lot. In 2019, “celebrants were spending a record amount of $161.96 per person. That beat the 2016 record of $146.84. It’s also 13 percent more than the $143.56 spent in 2018.” (National Retail Federation). On average, men spend as much twice as much as women for the big day, which can be explained by the antiquated social expectation for men to demonstrate their ability to provide for women financially (thebalance.com). And while you may feel victorious when you buy your spouse the purse she’s been eyeing for months, no one wins more than retailers during the season of love. In 2019, shoppers funnelled a record high of $20.7 billion dollars into the economy, according to the National Retail Federation. The industries profiting most from love (and obligation) are “jewelry at $3.9 billion, clothing/lingerie at $2.1 billion, flowers at $1.9 billion, candy at $1.8 billion, gift cards at $1.3 billion and greeting cards at $933 million” (FoxBusiness.com). Tiffany & Co. , for example, saw “better-than-expected results with overall worldwide net sales rising 15 percent” during the first quarter of last year, which Valentine’s Day falls under (The Financial). 

Consumer Spending Trends for Valentine’s Day in 2018 (Statista)

Consumer spending statistics tell us that spending for Valentine’s Day is on the rise, despite the fact that the number of people participating in the holiday seems to be falling. How can we explain this phenomenon? While I cannot pretend to have all of the answers, one possible explanation is increased consumer confidence due to an expanding economy. The U.S. economy has been steadily growing over the past few years and this leads people to feel secure in their financials. When people feel richer, they are more likely to splurge a little extra for special events like Valentine’s Day. So while five years ago, you may have bought your boyfriend the speaker system that costs $400, you are feeling financially strong this Valentine’s Day season and decide to buy him the $700 set instead. He’s a lucky guy…this year. 

Click here for the interactive version of this graph from the National Retail Federation

Regardless of whether you are buying out of devotion or out of societal pressure to live up to your role as ‘good significant other,’ the fact stays the same: you are buying. And as long as consumers continue to keep the holiday alive with gifts and special outings, retailers and Valentine’s Day will live happily ever after, oh so blissfully married by fervent capitalism and heart-shaped boxes.

Women, the new Apple Card, and credit discrimination

By Sarah Montgomery

“The @AppleCard is such a fucking sexist program. My wife and I filed joint tax returns, live in a community-property state, and have been married for a long time. Yet Apple’s black box algorithm thinks I deserve 20x the credit limit she does. No appeals work,” tweeted user @dhh. 

The man behind the Twitter handle is David Heinemeier Hansson, a software developer with a large social media following. When he and his wife, Jamie, applied for the new Apple Card, he received a much higher credit limit, even though his wife has a better credit score and they share assets. 

Steve Wozniak, a co-founder and current employee of Apple, said that he and his wife face a similarly unfair discrepancy in creditworthiness in terms of the credit card.

The Apple Card, which came out in August, was developed by Apple and Goldman Sachs. According to a support page, the applicant’s credit score, credit report and income level are entered into an algorithm that decidess creditworthiness. 

In response to the media attention that Hansson’s tweet garnered, the New York State Department of Financial Services announced that it will be investigating the algorithm that Apple and Goldman Sachs use.

Courtesy of Apple

How can artificial intelligence share human biases? According to a CNN Business article, artificial intelligence “can quickly learn about a simple concept, but it is dependent on the data that us humans feed it, for better or worse.” 

Gender discrimination in the finance world is nothing new. Only in 1974, not even 50 years ago, did Congress pass the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The act requires that banks, credit card companies, and other lenders make credit equally available to all creditworthy customers. It also outlaws discrimination based on several personal characteristics—sex being one of them— and thus lenders can only decide creditworthiness on income, expenses, debts, and credit history, amongst other limited pieces of information. 

“[I]f you weren’t a white male you were likely to be treated like a potential problem, not a potential customer [by lenders].”

Billy Fay of debt.org

Until ECOA was implemented, women were not allowed to apply for credit. All credit had to be obtained through husbands or fathers, even if the woman in question was gainfully employed. Though the legislation was a major push in the right direction, the National Consumer Law Center argues that unfair credit discrimination is alive and well, particularly against women.

Following up on his original tweet, Hannson writes: “I’m surprised that they even let her apply for a credit card without the signed approval of her spouse? I mean, can you really trust women with a credit card these days??!”

How Babies Affect the Economy

This year, the United States’ fertility rate hit 59 births per 1,000 women, the lowest number it has been in 32 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Since the Great Recession, the number of births has decreased due to the financial investment of having a child and how the recession took away resources that were necessary to support families. However, although the economy has since recovered, the fertility rate has not increased dramatically since. Many Americans cite the financial cost of raising a child as their primary reason for delaying child births. 

Several factors have contributed to the decline in childbearing. The overall decrease in teenage pregnancies, the availability of birth control, a shift in delaying marriage in favor of furthering personal careers and the higher cost of childcare and education have played roles in this decline. Women also cite that having better access to child care and stronger parental leave policies could spur more childbirths over the next years. 

Seventy percent of women in the U.S. today work outside the home, according to an article by Vox. On the one hand, more women in the workforce means more income tax being spent and the enjoyment of more disposable income. As we studied, consumer spending plays a large factor in GDP. In addition, with the need for specialized labor, a more educated workforce can create more opportunities for higher, advancing sectors that can stimulate the economy. Some also cite that lower fertility rates can be beneficial to ration our limited resources. 

On the other hand, declining birth rates can also have long-term effects. For one, the elderly population will increase creating an eventually-declining labor force and not enough people to work (much like in Japan).

The United Nations predicts that by the year 2100, 30 percent of the population will be made up of people ages 60 and above. With longer life expectancies, this can create an age imbalance that leaves a limited number of able-bodied people to work. Economists have predicted that this will create a rising need for increased healthcare, thereby also increasing its costs. With a smaller workforce, those who pay income taxes to fund these medical programs will also shrink as well. 

To increase the amount of people in the workforce, lawmakers have proposed keeping older people working longer, a solution that may not be feasible or welcomed. Another solution is relying on automation, artificial intelligence and robots to boost production and replace workers but this also has its limits. The last solution is to boost immigration to bring in more people who desire to work and fill jobs. If the U.S. is heading towards a recession by next year, there will be a chance that fertility rates will start to decline as people prepare for an economic slowdown, which can have overall negative effects on our economy.

Sources:

https://www.marketplace.org/2019/01/22/americans-are-having-fewer-babies-and-it-might-have-do-economy/

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/5/22/17376536/fertility-rate-united-states-births-women

https://www.businessinsider.com/dropping-fertility-rates-will-affect-the-economy-2016-11

https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/27/news/economy/arizona-birth-rates-economy/index.html