Policy Highlights from NBER Summer Institute 2026

Tariffs, health care, safety net access, labor

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Wanted: New Voices, New Ideas

The first Briefing Book call for proposals - send us yours, no policy experience required!

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Quick hits: The 2026 Social Security Trustees Report

As the Social Security trust funds get closer and closer to depletion, the window for gradual reforms is closing quickly.

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The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Falls Short—But It Could Do Better

Increased generosity and better targeting at adult caregivers would make a difference

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Do Group Unemployment Rates Send Warning Signs about the Broader Labor Market?

Labor market commentary often discusses unemployment rates for certain groups as potential leading indicators for the overall unemployment rate. I test that idea for several commonly mentioned groups.

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The Great Crime Decline

Homicides just hit their lowest level since 1900. The decline over the past 3 years is the fastest 3-year decline since records began. The federal stimulus during Covid may help explain why.

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Rezoning The Rust Belt

As Congress debates a housing law, zoning reform should be an important goal—even in some of the nation’s shrunken cities

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Why Economic Policy Analysis Needs a Regional Lens

Without regional analysis, even well-funded policies can miss their goals

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Putting a Price on Permitting

When anyone can say no to new housing, developers will pay up for an automatic ‘yes’.

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Did the CHIPS Act Trigger the Manufacturing Construction Boom?

A forensic accounting of industrial policy effects

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Recent SNAP Changes will Cost the Feds Less by Putting the Burden on Families and States

The One Big Beautiful Bill will cost states more while SNAP participants will receive less

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Trump Accounts as an Opportunity to Reduce Exponential Growth Bias and Improve Financial Security

The new children's savings accounts offer financial education opportunities -- but choice architecture is likely to have a bigger influence on their ability to deliver broad-based wealth accumulation.

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The Bank and Private Capital Shadow Venture

How to safekeep banks—and the safety net—from interconnections and systemic risk

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How Tougher Immigration Enforcement Can Undermine Public Safety

New research finds that immigrant deportations can increase crime, through reducing victim engagement with law enforcement

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Talking Shop: Abundance and Health Policy, with Nick Bagley

Artificial scarcity, entrenched incumbents, insurance expansion, Medicaid cuts, and bending the cost curve

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Rising prevalence of disability is part of COVID-19's evolving labor market legacy

Negative effects on labor force participation persist, as do higher rates of disability and employment among those with disabilities

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Crypto Kleptocracy

Beyond scams and volatility, crypto is planting the seeds of political self-enrichment amongst the cracks of public corruption law

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The Dangers of Shared Corporate Leadership

When the same person holds leadership or board positions at two competing companies, the companies are more likely to enter into collusive agreements

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Tax Credits and the Safety Net: Proven Tools That Could Do Even More

The EITC and CTC effectively deliver over $180 billion in aid annually and could still be improved

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Delivering the Future: Why the Postal Service Needs a New Model

From Self-Financing to Public Investment in National Infrastructure

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Los Angeles Shows That the Private Sector Can Develop Affordable Housing

Survey data from Los Angeles also show that a majority of residents support new building in their neighborhoods

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The Economic Case for Higher Birth Rates Is Bigger than You Think

The fiscal challenges of an aging population matter, but the innovation and progress that could be lost in a shrinking world matter even more

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Briefing Book Turns Two!

Looking ahead to what’s to come.

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No, Native-Born Employment Has Not Soared

A newly viral chart showing native-born employment levels is a multiple-count data felony. Focus instead on the native-born unemployment rate.

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How Cuts to the Insurance Marketplaces Will Harm Entrepreneurs

Small business owners and the self-employed rely on the marketplaces, and coverage is about to become less affordable

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Quick hits: Reactions to the Proposal by Senators Cassidy and Kaine to Rescue Social Security

Would the rescue work?

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Brave New World

What financial regulatory policy wonks need to know about Silicon Valley

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The Proliferation of Private Digital Money

Don’t say you didn’t see this financial crisis coming.

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The real issues facing the Social Security program aren’t inefficiency or fraud

Strengthening the program’s future will require balancing tradeoffs of increasing revenue and reducing benefits

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Quick hits: Interesting links

Student loans, unions, tariffs, and more

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