In his recent article, Dr. Cunha examines cross-border banking as a distinct transmission mechanism for political shocks. To do so, he looks to the unanticipated outcomes of the 2016 US presidential election and the Brexit referendum to identify the role of cross-border banking in transmitting these shocks. He finds that US global banks benefited disproportionately from the US election surprise. Accordingly, countries with closer ties to US banks fared relatively better; exposure to US bank flows cushioned the negative effect of the election. Evidence from Brexit reinforces the banking-channel hypothesis.

In her recent article, Dr. Barrett explores “calculated ageism”—a term we use to refer to a political figure’s edict that older adults should sacrifice their lives if it will mitigate the pandemic’s economic damage to younger people. Using thematic analysis, she examines tweets (n = 188) responding to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s March 23, 2020, statement that encouraged generational self-sacrifice. Themes that emerged included positions of support or opposition and tweeters’ critiques. The large majority of tweets—90%—opposed calculated ageism, while only 5% supported it and 5% conveyed no position.

In his recent article, Dr. Coutts examines the desired paths used by pedestrians. To do so, he conducts (1) aerial photography and spatial analysis were used to create an inventory of desired paths on the campus of Florida State University, and (2) a survey of desired path users was administered to determine the drivers of this activity. A comparison of spatial data from 2013 and 2018 demonstrates an array of desired paths on campus and, over time, campus planners have codified many of these informal paths. The results from the survey demonstrate that pedestrians use desired paths primarily for efficiency but not at the expense of nighttime safety concerns.