Keeping You in The Loop
Dear Decoders,
We have been on a great journey together.
Building this platform with you — the Decode Econ Educator Network, our contributors, our research assistants, and readers — has been incredibly rewarding. What began as an idea has grown into a community of people who care deeply about making economics clearer, more relevant, and more useful.
Today marks the last day of classes at NKU before spring break. While the world economy never really pauses, we are going to take a short one.
Following the economy and public policy, especially in today’s political climate, can be heavy. There is a fine balance between staying informed and becoming overwhelmed. Spring break gives us a moment to step back, recharge, and think carefully about how we want to approach the second half of the semester.
Reflection and rest are required for growth
During this time, we will be reflecting on our goals for Decode Econ and the strategy we want to pursue moving forward. But reflection is always better when it includes the people who make the work meaningful, that’s you.
One exercise I do with my students and my team once every semester is a mid-semester evaluation. The purpose is simple: gather honest feedback early enough to actually improve the second half.
So we would love to hear from you.
Three quick questions:
What is Decode Econ doing that you appreciate or find valuable? What is working well?
What are we doing that you do not find useful or would like to see less of?
What is something Decode Econ is not doing that you think we should incorporate?
We have always tried to be transparent with our community, and your feedback has consistently helped shape what Decode Econ becomes.
Thank you for being part of this journey with us. We appreciate your engagement, your ideas, and the role you play in making this platform better.
Please leave a comment with your feedback.
We will see you after the break.
Best,
Dr. A and the Decode Econ team ( Antowan Batts , Jonathan Marx, and Frannie Staley )
I'll just do the "What would I like to see more of" piece. I'd like to see more deconstructed averages. Averages in economics very often are misleading, often because the people at the top skew the average upwards. This is most obvious with income and wealth statistics, but also applies to things like "What is the average income of the lower 50% of US workers, and how does it compare with the average income of the lower 50% of French workers?" -- a question I asked and replied to among my recent posts here. Digging into the data can reveal situations that standard questions do not, especially about inequality or opportunity -- paying attention to how much the variance of US stats compare with other countries can be very eye-opening. For example: "What is the infant mortality of the lower 50% of US income-earners, compared to infant mortality among the top 10%?", or "What is the savings rate of the lower 50% compared to that of the top 10%?" or stock-ownership among these demographics, or home ownership, or education level.
Thank you to everyone on the Decode Econ team for the time and effort you put into this project.
1. From my perspective, one thing you are doing very well and should definitely continue is the length of the readings and the “Economics Behind” section. That part is the real differentiator of Decode Econ. It is what makes the content especially valuable for my students and, honestly, for me as well.
2. One area that could be improved relates to the leadership pieces. I really enjoy them, I truly love that section. However, since I tend to appreciate structure, it currently feels a bit random when those readings appear in my inbox. If a new reader happened to receive a leadership article as their first Decode Econ email, it might be a little confusing. One idea could be to create a dedicated section and release those pieces on a specific day, for example every Wednesday or Friday, with a catchy title that signals it is a special feature. This may just be my preference for structure, but it could help with clarity.
3. Another idea that could add value would be a monthly economic recap highlighting key indicators. Something brief and storytelling oriented that helps readers stay informed, almost like saying “life moves fast, but here are the main economic signals you should keep an eye on.” If it is helpful, I would be happy to contribute to something like this. I already produce similar visual economic summaries in my work, so translating that into a short narrative format would be very feasible.
Thank you, again!