by Öner Tulum, William Lazonick, and Ken Jacobson Despite vaccines’ significant public-health benefits, sales of all vaccines accounted for less than four percent of $872 billion in prescription-drug…
COVID-19
#1. Is there enough production capacity available for the vaccine supply to meet urgent demand in 2021?
by Öner Tulum, William Lazonick, and Ken Jacobson As COVID-19 vaccines receive regulatory approval, the world has a powerful weapon to fight the coronavirus. But at what pace…
INET-AIR COVID VACCINE PROJECT
Mass-Producing COVID-19 Vaccines: Capacity, Scale, and Control In collaboration with the Institute for New Economics Thinking (INET), the AIR research team has embarked on a new research project (INET-AIR COVID VACCINE PROJECT) to study and report on the rollout of…
4 Burning Questions on the Global Vaccine Rollout
Warnings of “corruption and incompetence coming together,” as economists William Lazonick and Öner Tulum study the race to end the pandemic.
‘Sick’: Most Profitable US Companies Fired Workers, Enriched Shareholders During Pandemic
“…An in-depth investigation published Wednesday by the Washington Post illuminates how “big businesses are having a very different year from most of the country,” which is suffering as a result of the federal government’s negligent response to the ongoing public health catastrophe and inadequate provision of financial assistance…
America’s biggest companies are flourishing during the pandemic and putting thousands of people out of work
“…Companies often buy their own stock during difficult economic periods to signal to the market that management still believes in their prospects. But those buybacks also mean companies are taking money that could have been invested into employees and innovation…
The COVID-19 Pandemic Exposes Fatal Health Inequities
“…Financialization furthers the restructuring of production both vertically and internationally, creating global production networks and enabling firms to raise prices (cost mark-ups), increase profits, and boost shareholder values. At the same time, financialization reduces investment to sanction higher dividend payments,…
The myth of the ‘efficient’ private sector has been busted by Covid
“Last Friday, as towns and cities across the UK faced up to renewed lockdown restrictions, executives at Serco had reason to celebrate. Serco is one of the dozens of private companies that have been contracted by the Westminster government to…
Trump sets up pharma billionaires for coronavirus payday
“…And although Regeneron has committed to selling some of the antibodies to the government, which in turn is obligated to distribute them “to the American people at no cost,” according to the government’s July 6 agreement, that deal applies only to…
Coronavirus, Capitalism, and the Workers’ Movement
“…The airline executives are not simply lying that the money is gone. A lot of it is gone: Economist William Lazonick, a longtime critic of stock buybacks, notes that the airlines and freight companies paid out about one-fourth of their…