Economics Professor Interviewed for ‘Marketplace’ Podcast Linda Hooks’ comments were featured during a March 19 segment on the impact of current interest rates on business and consumer spending.

By Brian Laubscher
March 24, 2025

Linda Hooks, professor of economics and head of the Economics Department at Washington and Lee University, recently granted an interview to “Marketplace,” a podcast produced by the Marketplace public media outlet.

Portions of Hooks’ interview were utilized by Marketplace reporter Kristin Schwab during a March 19 podcast titled “Fed takes ‘wait and see’ approach with tariffs.” Schwab’s segment of the podcast focuses on interest rates and their impact on business and consumer spending.

Schwab notes that after a decade of low interest rates, the current rates seem especially high by comparison despite being below historical averages. On the resulting business and consumer mindset, Hooks says, “I would anticipate that consumers and businesses will be stuck in that mode (mindset) for the near future.”

Regarding how that mindset affects how businesses and consumers spending, Hooks notes, “Businesses are less likely to get financing that they need to expand their business or invest in new technology or train employees.”

Hooks has been a member of the W&L faculty since 1993. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Louisiana State University and earned both master’s and doctorate degrees in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has served as head of the Economics Department since 2017.

Founded in 1989, Marketplace produces broadcast shows, podcasts and digital reporting on business and the economy in ways that everyone can understand. Its broadcast portfolio is heard by more than 10 million listeners each week on more than 800 public radio stations nationwide, while its podcast reaches an additional 1.6 million listeners.

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