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Did inequality in US increase during pandemic? Wait for more data to get answers

Aug 8, 2021 | ,

Researchers at the Urban Institute estimated last month that, thanks to big job gains and the benefits included in the American Rescue Plan approved in March and earlier pandemic-aid legislation, the share of Americans below the poverty line would fall to 7.7 per cent this year from what they estimated using the same methodology to have been 13.9 per cent in 2018.
The bottom half did enjoy a bigger percentage wealth gain than the top 1 per cent —30.3 per cent versus 20.7 per cent since the end of 2019 — although because it had so little wealth to start with, that amounted to just $609 billion in new wealth versus $7.1 trillion for the 1 per cent.

Still, the total wealth of the bottom 50 per cent in the first quarter of this year amounted to 6.3 per cent of that of the top 1 per cent, up from 5.8 per cent at the end of 2019 and the highest such percentage since 2007. In that sense, at least, inequality between the top and bottom decreased.

COVID-19 herd immunity: It’s not going to happen, so what next?

Aug 4, 2021 | , , , , ,

The evolution of the virus has been so rapid that the Delta variant, which is currently dominating the world, is at least twice as transmissible as the ancestral virus that was circulating.

What this means is that herd immunity is no longer a discussion the world should be having. We should start to avoid using that term in the context of SARS-CoV-2, because it’s not going to materialise – or is unlikely to materialise – during our lifetimes.

Beware the hype around AI. It has fooled many

Jul 11, 2019 | , , ,

A similar tale can be told of each of AI’s dozen diverse areas. One is the area of multi-agent systems, which focuses on designing the interaction between autonomous software agents such as self-driving cars. Another is automated planning. Yet another is machine learning, which many mistakenly view as being synonymous with AI. The staples of each area don’t quite jibe even with Minsky’s loose definition.

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Found love at work? It may be unhealthy for the aspiring ‘power couple’

Jun 17, 2019 | , ,

Author Arvind Parashar, who has worked with corporates like Dell, Genpact and GE in senior leadership roles before he took to full-time writing, said love is perceived to diminish when you attain the CXO level in the corporate world, but that is not actually the case always and several CEOs or power couples tend to be particular about the holidays and destinations with their family or partners. 

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WHO releases first guideline on digital health interventions

Apr 29, 2019 | , ,

One digital intervention already having positive effects in some areas is sending reminders to pregnant women to attend antenatal care appointments and having children return for vaccinations. Other digital approaches reviewed include decision-support tools to guide health workers as they provide care; and enabling individuals and health workers to communicate and consult on health issues from across different locations.

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New crop of satellites will identify biggest contributors to Climate Change

Apr 29, 2019 | , ,

“Space-based technologies are allowing us for the first time to quickly and cheaply measure greenhouse gases,” said Mark Brownstein, a senior vice president at Environmental Defense Fund, which plans to launch its MethaneSAT in 2021. “Oftentimes both government and industry are not fully aware of the magnitude of the opportunity to cut emissions. With that data, they can take action.”

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Five things to consider before buying a health insurance

Mar 9, 2019 | ,

With so many product options in the market, selecting the right cover could be a daunting task. However being apprised of certain key requisites when buying a Health Insurance might make the process a lot simpler – here are five imperatives that one must consider before settling for a plan.

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What Is Universal Basic Income?

Jan 31, 2019 | ,

Many ongoing and prospective experiments with universal basic income around the world refer to very different interventions. Examples include cash transfers to a selected group of unemployed people for a short time in Finland, to adults for 12 years in Kenya, and to randomly chosen households in California. This diversity reflects the absence of a unified definition and assessment methodology in both the literature and policy discourse.

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