Main Street uncertainty aligned with Wall Street in reaction to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and over the ensuing two years; also, uncertainty remains quite elevated as of March 2022, though down significantly since the spring of 2020.

Most of the amount, timing, and composition of the 240,000 deaths involving alcohol and drugs since early 2020 can be explained by income effects and category-specific price changes.

Economic policy uncertainty in US states rises around gubernatorial and presidential elections, as well as around state-specific and national events; also, the COVID-19 pandemic drove huge increases in policy uncertainty and unemployment, more so in states with stricter government-mandated lockdowns.