Policy & the Economy
![An upcoming sales tax spurs car sales.](/imager/clientcontent/174160/sales-tax-recession_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/174160/sales-tax-recession_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/174160/sales-tax-recession_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
November 1, 2019
How Raising the Sales Tax Could Help Fight a Recession
New research points to a counterintuitive new tool to spur spending.
Lorenz Kueng, Scott R. Baker, Brian Melzer and Leslie McGranahan
![physical vs intangible investment](/imager/clientcontent/171717/intangible-capital_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/171717/intangible-capital_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/171717/intangible-capital_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
October 4, 2019
Companies Are Shifting Investment Away from Physical Capital, with Far-Reaching Consequences
Buildings and machinery are out. Software, IP, and research are in. Here’s why it matters.
Nicolas Crouzet and Janice C. Eberly
![A man decides whether to buy an extended warranty for a TV.](/imager/clientcontent/170814/extended-warranties_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/170814/extended-warranties_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/170814/extended-warranties_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
October 3, 2019
No, Extended Warranties Are Usually Not Worth It
So why do so many people keep buying them?
Jose Miguel Abito and Yuval Salant
![Parents' belief in traditional gender roles can affect daughters' math performance.](/imager/clientcontent/166383/familymathgender_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/166383/familymathgender_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/166383/familymathgender_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
September 3, 2019
Daughters’ Math Scores Suffer When They Grow Up in a Family That’s Biased Towards Sons
Parents, your children are taking their cues about gender roles from you.
Gaia Dossi, David Figlio, Paola Giuliano and Paola Sapienza
![High-frequency traders working quickly](/imager/clientcontent/164690/high-frequency-trading_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/164690/high-frequency-trading_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/164690/high-frequency-trading_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
September 3, 2019
Some High-Frequency Trading Strategies Can Damage the Stock Market’s Health
But a small tweak to how trading orders are processed could help.
Markus Baldauf and Joshua Mollner
![An H1-B Visa holder applies for a job](/imager/clientcontent/7576/H1-B_visa_art_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/7576/H1-B_visa_art_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/7576/H1-B_visa_art_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
August 14, 2019
The Business Case for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Two economists propose a bipartisan immigration overhaul, with an eye towards the future of the labor force.
Benjamin Harris and Douglas Holtz-Eakin
![China's expanded monetary policy after the Great Recession helped support less productive companies.](/imager/clientcontent/133915/kellogg_ponticelli_01-011_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/133915/kellogg_ponticelli_01-011_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/133915/kellogg_ponticelli_01-011_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
August 1, 2019
China Weathered the Global Recession with an Aggressive Stimulus Package. But Did It Prop Up the Wrong Firms?
A cautionary tale about the unintended consequences of credit expansion.
Lin William Cong, Haoyu Gao, Jacopo Ponticelli and Xiaoguang Yang
![History offers lessons in the enforcement of antitrust laws.](/imager/clientcontent/133785/antitrust-laws_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/133785/antitrust-laws_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/133785/antitrust-laws_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
July 1, 2019
Should Antitrust Laws Really Be Changed, or Should We Just Enforce the Laws We Have?
A presidential assassination brought the trust-busting Teddy Roosevelt to power. The episode offers lessons for today’s antitrust regulators.
Richard Baker, Carola Frydman and Eric Hilt
![A worker helps another worker learn at a computer.](/imager/clientcontent/133612/human-capital_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/133612/human-capital_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/133612/human-capital_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
June 3, 2019
A Nation’s Wealth May Depend on How Much Its Workers Can Learn on the Job
New research suggests that formal schooling is not the panacea to global inequality that many have long believed it to be.
David Lagakos, Benjamin Moll, Tommaso Porzio, Nancy Qian and Todd Schoellman
![Toy soldiers and artillery prepare to charge forward on a strategy game board.](/imager/clientcontent/133569/BaligaConflict_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/133569/BaligaConflict_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/133569/BaligaConflict_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
June 3, 2019
One Nation Invades Another. What Will Happen Next?
Game theory reveals why some conflicts escalate and others don’t.
Sandeep Baliga and Tomas Sjöström
![A trader looks at a volatile stock market chart made up of newspaper headlines.](/imager/clientcontent/133550/stock_market_new_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/133550/stock_market_new_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/133550/stock_market_new_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
June 3, 2019
What Causes Stock Market Swings?
Tariffs? Job reports? Oil prices? A new volatility index pinpoints which factors make investors feel uncertain.
Scott R. Baker, Nicholas Bloom, Steven J. Davis and Kyle Kost
![An investor uses two connecting ladders to climb a tall dollar sign.](/imager/clientcontent/133426/kellogg_tools-for-investing_01-alt-01_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/133426/kellogg_tools-for-investing_01-alt-01_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/133426/kellogg_tools-for-investing_01-alt-01_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
May 2, 2019
A Comprehensive Model for Building Winning Stock Portfolios
Linking fundamental analysis and portfolio optimization may be the key to solving the “investor’s problem.”
Matthew R. Lyle and Teri L. Yohn
![](/imager/clientcontent/133323/Kellogg_Simple_Prager_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/133323/Kellogg_Simple_Prager_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/133323/Kellogg_Simple_Prager_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
April 4, 2019
When an Industry Consolidates, What Happens to Wages?
A surprisingly consistent answer has emerged in one sector: healthcare.
Elena Prager and Matt Schmitt
![Two women at a retirement party, looking at an almost empty piggy bank.](/imager/clientcontent/133236/Ravina_RetirementSavings_5d506276179423d1497e68ab765394e3.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/133236/Ravina_RetirementSavings_8d8107d26abf3aa02bdce870f4fb901d.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/133236/Ravina_RetirementSavings_5c4adfdd16a89deaf3c40e6716adfe5e.jpg 25w)
April 1, 2019
Three Quarters of Americans Aren’t Putting Enough into Their 401(k)s
With employers shifting away from pensions, there’s an urgent need for improved financial literacy.
Francisco Gomes, Kenton Hoyem, Wei Hu and Enrichetta Ravina
![Sitting outside of the patent office, three inventors hold similar-looking inventions, while one inventor holds a distinct-looking invention.](/imager/clientcontent/133036/PapanikPatents_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/133036/PapanikPatents_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/133036/PapanikPatents_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
March 4, 2019
How Much Does Innovation Drive Economic Growth?
A study of millions of patents lifts the veil on how new ideas influence productivity.
Bryan Kelly, Dimitris Papanikolaou, Amit Seru and Matt Taddy
![A home made of dollar bills blows away](/imager/clientcontent/132795/loanrefinancing_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/132795/loanrefinancing_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/132795/loanrefinancing_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
January 7, 2019
Not Everyone Benefited from Lower Interest Rates During the Great Recession
The Fed wanted to help struggling homeowners. But new lending rules undermined its efforts.
Anthony DeFusco and John Mondragon
![A job hunter googles job information.](/imager/clientcontent/132567/Baker-GoogleJobs_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/132567/Baker-GoogleJobs_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/132567/Baker-GoogleJobs_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
December 5, 2018
What Google Is Teaching Economists About Unemployment Insurance
Search data can tell policymakers whether extending unemployment benefits delays job-seeking.
Scott R. Baker and Andrey Fradkin
![A master baker and her unhappy apprentice.](/imager/clientcontent/132558/RayoApprentice_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/132558/RayoApprentice_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/132558/RayoApprentice_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
December 4, 2018
Why Do Trainees Get Stuck with So Much Grunt Work?
There must be faster ways to get them up to speed. Yet grueling apprenticeships persist in medicine, law, and the trades.
Drew Fudenberg and Luis Rayo
![Socioeconomic divide on the same street.](/imager/clientcontent/132406/kellogg_social-mobility_02-small_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/132406/kellogg_social-mobility_02-small_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/132406/kellogg_social-mobility_02-small_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
November 6, 2018
How Closely Do Our Beliefs About Social Mobility Match Reality?
The answer differs between Americans and Europeans, and between liberals and conservatives.
Alberto Alesina, Stefanie Stantcheva and Edoardo Teso
![Two coffee growers harvest safely](/imager/clientcontent/239503/full_0818_Congo_Coffee_ed70ba7fff77c9fd60c2624db9acdf1d.jpg 600w, /imager/clientcontent/239503/full_0818_Congo_Coffee_9c164550f17b68a3a905c55008f1b636.jpg 300w, /imager/clientcontent/239503/full_0818_Congo_Coffee_2ea97daf9584eb0a9356116bfb5b61d0.jpg 25w)
August 14, 2018
How the Coffee Industry Is Building a Sustainable Supply Chain in an Unstable Region
Three experts discuss the challenges and rewards of sourcing coffee from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ameet Morjaria, Sara Mason and Angel Mario Martinez Garcia
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