Economics of Ebola

Robert Eyler, Ph.D

October 2014 was a wild month on financial markets and also on global issues, specifically around communicable diseases. The geopolitics in 2014 have already been shaky, as well as the global economic forecasts. Europe, as an entry point from many from West Africa into the emerged world, had risks popping up all over the place during October 2014; the European economy’s forecast for 2014 overall was downgraded by the IMF, and then reports about the German economy and also the British economy not growing enough on the consumption side to drive prices up signaled a possible triple dip recession in Europe. A disease scare can easily contract both business investment and consumption simultaneously and have a deleterious effect on world financial markets. While November is approaching and it seems as if the Ebola scare is slowing down, the recent events tell us that the American economy is vulnerable to an outbreak of disease anywhere in the world if the expectations change about spreading to the United States.

Housing & Economic Update

Robert Eyler, Ph.D

Because housing has become a major issue in Marin County, especially in terms of providing low-cost housing options for workers and families, the global context for national debates and trends in credit markets affect local decisions. These decisions are not limited to multi-family units. The moratorium on residential building for Tamal Vista in Corte Madera may spread to other neighborhoods, cities and towns in Marin County soon.  This decision comes at a time when the credit market and housing demand conditions make for good risk environments to build, though such developments come with costs such as traffic. 2015 is forecasted (as you will see in MEF’s Economic Bulletin) to be a year of continued economic growth. Marin County needs to take the current conditions and utilize them to make investments now for the future.