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WFDD-FM (Winston-Salem, NC)
Economist cheers end of penny production
"I think cash and coins will stay around for a long time," said economist Robert Whaples. The function of money is to allow people to make transactions with each other. Because money got rid of barter, we could make all these trades very efficiently with each other. What we have now is a whole range of different modes of delivering that money, and I think more is better. People like the extra options and different ways they can pay."
May 30, 2025
Bloomberg News
Two MIT math nerds crack open legalized gambling on Wall Street
Kalshi’s urgency in entering sports gambling stems in part from a post-election drop-off in volumes. “People have short attention spans and they're not going to stick around just for elections every two years or so," said economics professor Koleman Strumpf. “Now, of course, sports betting could be very profitable.” The structure of prediction markets could make it hard for Kalshi to expand into the kind of short-term bets during live games that have been the fastest-growing part of sports gambling.
May 30, 2025
Winston-Salem Journal
Forsyth and Guilford Counties charge ahead as EV ownership accelerates
Economics professor Mark Curtis explained that EVs are “simply better products than internal combustion cars” from an economic standpoint. “They are cheaper to own over the life of the car, they require less maintenance, and they perform better,” he said. “They accelerate faster, have fewer parts, and don’t need oil changes or regular engine repairs. For most drivers, especially those who can charge at home, they are already the better option.”
May 29, 2025
Newsweek
Say goodbye to loose change: How the end of the penny could change prices
After more than two centuries clinking in pockets, lining dusty piggy banks and being flung into fountains along with a wish, the U.S. penny is preparing for retirement. According to economics professor Robert Whaples, the actual "disappearance" of pennies in circulation is expected to take years, or even decades. "Stores will ask people to bring in their pennies when they run out. If they do, pennies could stay around for a long time. "If not, it'll take much less time. It may vary by region and retailer," he said.
May 29, 2025
WXII-TV (Winston Salem, NC)
A penny for your thoughts: Professor weighs in on the end of the penny
"When they stop minting new ones, there will still be a lot around," said economics professor Robert Whaples. "There's about seven dollars worth of pennies per American. The main impact for us will be — it will save us time. Because if you are fishing for change, it's a lot easier to use nickels, dimes and quarters. So, it will save us a second of our time here or there."
May 28, 2025
The Guardian
They sued after their medical devices failed. But bankruptcy moves could mean they get nothing
Law professor Samir Parikh, who specializes in bankruptcy, said loans like this were commonly seen in private equity bankruptcy proceedings. “It’s frustrating,” he said. It is “somewhat palatable” for a variety of industries to adopt such business practices, “but in healthcare, it’s just not right." When investors take on life and death responsibilities, “it’s no longer acceptable to just say, ‘oh, sorry, this entity is now bankrupt.’”
May 27, 2025
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
Winston-Salem State University sends record number of students to graduate school in mathematics
Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina is celebrating a new milestone in student achievement. Among this year’s graduating class, 11 students have committed to pursue advanced degrees in mathematical and statistical sciences – the most in the HBCU’s history. Graduate school destinations for the student cohort include Duke University in Durham and Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem.
May 23, 2025
Consumer Affairs
The US is saying goodbye to the penny
"In 2006, Robert Whaples, professor of economics at Wake Forest University and an expert on the history of the U.S. economy, presented his findings at the John Locke Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank. "It's time to eliminate the penny," said Whaples, who estimated that the United States loses roughly $900 million a year on penny production and handling."
May 23, 2025
Harvard Business Review
One simple way to get better at reading data
Statistics professor Lucy D’Agostino McGowan and business analytics professor Jeffrey Camm write: "As we've evolved from analytics to data science to AI, the world has never been more data-driven. We believe it is always a good idea to question the data. When percentages are used, it is imperative that important information is not masked by the statistics. Ask for percentages and absolutes to both be discussed. Clarity comes by asking, “What’s the denominator?” If you want to know how effective something is, it needs to be in the denominator.
May 23, 2025
Character & Context Blog for The Society for Personality and Social Psychology
"Stressful situations are complicated and often just plain hard. It doesn’t mean that people should ignore the negative, or act like things are fine when they are not. But it does mean that, even in the middle of stress, uncertainty and loss, there may be glimmers of good. When people take the time to notice and reflect on those bright spots, they may feel a little better just when they need it most," writes psychology professor Christian Waugh.
May 23, 2025
The Bookseller
Still here, still queer… but getting squeezed out
A recent study from economics professors, Tin Cheuk Leung and Koleman S. Strumpf, argued that LGBTQ+ authors are paid less than straight authors, even when they sell more books, according to examined advances and royalty payments from the US “Big Five” publishers.
May 23, 2025
APM Marketplace
Why it makes sense to get rid of the penny
Economics professor Robert Whaples analyzed transaction data from a convenience store chain located in multiple states, including Alabama, Georgia and Virginia. "If you took into account taxes and transactions involving multiple purchases, and then rounded to the nearest nickel, you would have to round down just as much as you round up," Whaples said.
May 22, 2025