Hello! I enjoyed reading your post! I particularly appreciated your point that a moral foundation is a key component of what makes an economy strong. In economics, morality is one often forgotten aspect; however, as you point out, our moral foundation shapes how we view people, how we steward our resources, and the incentives which motivate our actions (one of the most important aspects of economics). Morality, as you note, is also what motivates us to establish protective boundaries through the rule of law so that the poor and vulnerable are defended and have a chance to participate in the economy—and the more people that participate in the economy through entrepreneurship, the healthier an economy can be. Thank you again for your post!

Hi Elena! I found your point that changes in unemployment rates after COVID differed between countries to be quite fascinating. Out of curiosity to learn more, I pulled up the Brookings report you cited and find it really interesting that of the OECD countries listed, only a few countries (the United States, Canada, and Austria) seemed to have experienced a major jump in unemployment after pandemic shutdowns. This finding, while quite fascinating, is still very fresh, and in the years to come, as nations have the time to fill in missing data and evaluate, it will be fascinating to see if any specific correlations or causal relationships arise between economic structure/country differences and higher unemployment rates, as this could offer insight into how countries' labor markets could be bolstered and stabilized so they would be less affected by such sudden catastrophes. Great work, Elena, I enjoyed reading your post! :) Blessings, Gabby Oldham