WashU Experts

The pandemic spurred an entrepreneurship boom, but do these small businesses have what it takes to survive? Olin Business School’s Glenn MacDonald explains factors to consider in starting and succeeding with a new business.

Although most likely temporary, inflation expectations could become self-fulfilling prophesy, according to John Horn, professor of practice in economics at Olin Business School.

“If vaccines or negative COVID-19 tests are required for attendees, 100% attendance is safe,” says the Washington University in St. Louis mathematician who helped derive the model used for fan-attendance risk analysis across many of America’s sports venues. “Without requiring vaccinations or testing, it’s not.”

The new CDC guidelines may help businesses – especially restaurants and bars – if customers feel safer with the new recommendations, according to Olin Business School’s Raphael Thomadsen and Song Yao.

Periodical cicadas are above ground for only a handful of days every 17 years. Human-induced rapid environmental change is altering the world they will briefly encounter, according to Brett Seymoure, a postdoctoral fellow with the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in St. Louis.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposed ban on menthol flavored cigarettes and all flavored cigars could be particularly beneficial for Black and young people, says an expert on tobacco control at Washington University in St. Louis.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted April 20 for his killing of George Floyd. Collectively, people across the country breathed a sigh of relief because far too often, the story has been police killing people of color with impunity, says an expert on race and the law at Washington University in St. Louis.

As China prepares for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party, thousands of theaters have been instructed to screen at least two propaganda films each week. But political jargon and ideological mandates may not sit well with 21st-century moviegoers, argues Zhao Ma, associate professor of modern Chinese history and culture in Arts & Sciences.

Like other modern presidents, executive orders may be the only path forward for Biden to deliver on his policy agenda, however these powers come at a great cost, according to Andrew Reeves, associate professor of political science iat Washington University in St. Louis.

Washington University’s Ariela Schachter and Linling Gao-Miles share their perspectives on the recent killing of eight people — including six women of Asian decent — in Atlanta and the history of anti-Asian racism and violence in the U.S.