Christopher Elmendorf discusses the views of the US public on the housing market.Most Americans agree that housing costs are too high, often blaming developers and landlords. Many feel that the problem can be solved with price controls, development restrictions, and mandates on providing below-market-rate units. But these ideas are at odds ...
A social media field experiment suggests that gender, race, and university affiliation influence the formation of professional relationships among economists.From boosting job prospects to gaining attention for new papers, networking has always been an important part of finding success in academia. Today, many professional networks have moved online to sit...
In the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, members of Congress become more likely to adopt the positions of special interest donors.Voters expect their elected representatives to prioritize their needs over the preferences of large campaign donors. While public scrutiny helps keep politicians accountable, it is difficult to measure the effect of publ...
Trevon Logan and John Parman discuss the meaning of segregation and how it has shaped US history.Despite decades of civil rights legislation, many Black and White Americans, as well as other minorities, continue to live in racially homogeneous neighborhoods, with significant implications for access to quality schools, jobs, healthcare, and economic opportu...
How do politicians adjust their messages based on who they're running against?Political scientists have long argued that there are good theoretical reasons for believing that politicians adjust their messages to win over centrist voters. But there is little empirical evidence that they do this in practice.In a paper in the American Economic R...
How did educational opportunities after the American Civil War shape economic outcomes for Black families?During the decade following the end of the Civil War, formerly enslaved people gained access to education for the first time. Unfortunately, many of those new educational opportunities were systematically dismantled shortly after the Reconstruction per...
