World Perspectives

The Economics of Flu

Inclusive Costs (NBER Working Paper No. 22137; March 2016): This study included former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers and found that a large pandemic imposed the same inclusive economic costs as global warming - $570 billion/year. Collective Action (NBER Working Paper No. 17195; July 2011): Influenza is predominantly spread globally via international airlines and locally via ground transportation. Reducing the costs requires rich countries to collectively focus resources immediately into the originating source of the virus. Vitamin D (NBER Working Paper No. 24340; January 2019): Influenza spreads in winter when everyone is indoors but the virus is also present in the peripheral months of September and October when sunlight remains...

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From WPI Consulting

Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming

WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.

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