By Raja Chinnakotla | Spring 2026 – Volume 16 Why is Islamic Finance Different? In conventional understandings of economics, the ideaof interest and the cost of borrowing money are afoundation for the field. In the field of economics,interest is a nonnegotiable fact. Among internationalgroups, including the World Bank and the IMF, it iswidely frowned upon …
By David Miller | Spring 2026 – Volume 16 Introduction If you live in Madison, you will certainly have heard thephrase “housing crisis” in recent years. You may have alsonoticed the near-constant development of new apartmentbuildings downtown. This might be related to the over8,500 first-year students admitted yearly by the Universityof Wisconsin – Madison (University …
By Justin Dickman and Declan Rafter | Spring 2026 – Volume 16 On a dewy morning in Greenleaf WI, Jim Leick rollsout of bed at 4:30 AM and throws on a pair of jeansbefore greeting the gray gravel paths and navy blue feedsilos at Greenleaf Ledge Dairy family farm (GLD).Approximately 700 cows rely on the …
By Ananya Vashishth | Spring 2026 – Volume 16 Introduction On any given morning in Delhi, Mumbai, or Bengaluru,a decades-old scooter may idle beside a brand-new SUVat a traffic light. The contrast reflects more thanconsumer preference. In India, vehicles are not merelygoods- they are long-term investments, livelihood tools,and often the most valuable asset a household …
By Junhao Yang | Spring 2026 – Volume 16 Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, Afghanistan haseffectively been under sanction by the Western world,which has used them as a bargaining tool in negotiationsregarding women’s rights. However, without furtherengagement with the global community, Afghanistanrisks slipping into further instability driven by acombination of poverty and a growing …
By Dina Farooq Kalim | Spring 2026 – Volume 16 In politics, you might hear the phrase “socially liberal butfiscally conservative,” but this is actually an oxymoron.Although many people believe that economic policy andsocial policy are two separate entities, the two are in factinextricably linked. As of recently, many Gen Z’s, particularly men, havebegun to …
By Rachel Williams | Spring 2026 – Volume 16 Introduction The purpose of this study is to highlight the relationshipbetween the poverty rate and the unemployment rate inthe United States (U.S.) with hopes of shedding light onhow changes in national unemployment rates areassociated with changes in the poverty rate. The povertyrate represents the share of …
By Luca Knych | Spring 2026 – Volume 16 Beginning on October 1st and lasting until November12th, last year’s United States Government shutdownmarked the longest in American history. As is always thecase, the shutdown began due to Congress’s failure to passthe required 12 appropriation bills, which provide fundingto the federal government by the start of …
By Valery Vayserberg | Spring 2026 – Volume 16 “An economic fiasco!” One might say that whenattempting to verbalize the true trials and tribulationsof the international economy between World War I andWorld War II. “The most trying of times!” A Germanresident may exclaim, reaching into his pocket andgrabbing 1 United States dollar only to realize …
By Leo Levin | ShoQs 2026 In the past few years, there has been lots of talk about the Green New Deal, what it is, its implications, and who it will impact the most. Through policy analysis I saw that the GND is not only a climate plan; it is a vision to transform the US …