Policy & the Economy
March 1, 2021
Contact Tracing Is Failing in the U.S. Here’s How to Fix It.
For starters, turn responsibility over to local organizations and communities, where trust is higher.
Sarit Markovich
February 1, 2021
Do Powerful Politicians Play Favorites with Their Corporate Friends?
A new study examines the power of public scrutiny to keep high-ranking officials in check.
Quoc-anh Do, Yen-Teik Lee, Bang D. Nguyen and Kieu-Trang Nguyen
February 1, 2021
Why Do COVID-19 Death Rates Differ Wildly from Place to Place?
Researchers were surprised by the variable that best predicted fatalities.
Martin Eichenbaum, Sergio Rebelo and Mathias Trabandt
January 7, 2021
How Well Does COVID Public Policy Align with Science?
In an era of misinformation, policy based on “dubious science” could mean a greater loss of life and economic hardship.
Yian Yin, Jian Gao, Benjamin F. Jones and Dashun Wang
December 4, 2020
How an Advice Hotline Is Making Farmers in India More Productive
Previous efforts to provide farmers with guidance fell short. But this venture went further.
Apoorv Gupta, Jacopo Ponticelli and Andrea Tesei
December 1, 2020
Should Local Governments Be Offering Tax Credits to Angel Investors?
New research casts doubt on whether these incentives actually spur innovation and economic growth.
Matthew Dennes, Sabrina Howell, Filippo Mezzanotti, XinXin Wang and Ting Xu
December 1, 2020
How Racism Discouraged Volunteer Enlistment Immediately after Pearl Harbor
New research examines what happened when Black and Japanese men, who were battling discrimination at home, were asked to fight injustice abroad.
Nancy Qian and Marco Tabellini
November 23, 2020
Is Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine the Next Blockbuster Drug?
Investors are keeping a close eye on the drug firm’s vaccine advances. But the company’s longer-term fortunes may lie elsewhere.
Efraim Benmelech
November 11, 2020
How Auctions Help Solve Some of the World’s Most Complicated Problems
Whenever you turn your lights on, query Google, or stream a video on your phone, it’s likely an auction happened in the background. Our faculty discuss the decades of research that helped make auctions so ubiquitous.
Robert Weber, Jeroen Swinkels, Sandeep Baliga, James Schummer and Joshua Mollner
November 4, 2020
One Key Trait That Predicts How Much People Will Socially Distance
This new research could help policymakers deliver more effective COVID-safety messaging.
John Barrios, Efraim Benmelech, Yael V Hochberg, Paola Sapienza and Luigi Zingales
November 2, 2020
Meet the (Surprisingly Rational) COVID Consumer
Research on initial consumer spending shows that those at higher risk were making safer choices.
Sergio Rebelo, Martin Eichenbaum, Mathias Trabandt, Francisco Lima and Miguel Godinho de Matos
October 29, 2020
The Political Divide in America Goes Beyond Polarization and Tribalism
These days, political identity functions a lot like religious identity.
Eli J. Finkel and Cynthia S. Wang
October 29, 2020
What Is “Auction Theory,” and What Kinds of Questions Can It Answer?
The recent Nobel put the field of auction theory in the spotlight. An economist explains how it works, using his own research as a guide.
Paul Milgrom and Joshua Mollner
October 28, 2020
Choosing the Right Health-Insurance Plan Could Add Years to Your Life
New evidence suggests that certain Medicare Advantage plans increase life spans more than others. Here’s what the best plans have in common.
Jason Abaluck, Mauricio Cáceres Bravo, Peter Hull and Amanda Starc
October 19, 2020
Unpacking the Federal Reserve’s Aggressive Response to COVID-19
A Kellogg professor spent the past year at the Fed. He explains the bank’s “guns-blazing” response—and the limits to these interventions.
Nicolas Crouzet
October 5, 2020
When Executives Donate to Politicians, How Much Are They Keeping Their Companies’ Interests in Mind?
A new study looks at the motivation behind these donations, which make up nearly a fifth of all political giving.
Edoardo Teso
October 1, 2020
Does Requiring Food-Stamp Recipients to Work Actually Increase Economic Self-Sufficiency?
The answer is increasingly urgent as politicians debate whether to reinstate the requirement, which was paused during the COVID-19 recession.
Elena Prager, Adam Leive, Mary Zaki, Colin Gray and Kelsey Pukelis
October 1, 2020
Researchers Designed an Algorithm to Save Schools Money and Improve Equity. The District Loved it. Then Things Got Messy.
A tale of bus routes in Boston shows the promises and pitfalls of using new technology to change entrenched systems.
Dimitris Bertsimas, Arthur Delarue and Sébastien Martin
September 2, 2020
Pharma Companies Argue That Lower Drug Prices Would Mean Fewer Breakthrough Drugs. Is That True?
Probably not, a new study suggests—as long as the price decreases are modest.
David Dranove, Craig Garthwaite and Manuel I. Hermosilla
September 2, 2020
How Credit Ratings Are Shaping Governments’ Responses to Covid-19
To fund pandemic-related spending, governments around the world will need to take on more debt. If they can.
Efraim Benmelech
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