AEA Research Highlights

Ep. 100: Environmental market design

Since the 1990s, developers in Florida who want to build on wetlands have been required to buy offset credits from "wetland mitigation banks," private restoration projects that convert degraded land,…

Ep. 99: The wrong side of the tracks

The place where a child grows up in America shapes their economic future to a significant degree. One long-suspected explanation is racial segregation, but proving whether segregation actually causes…

Ep. 98: Delivering clean water

More than two billion people around the world do not have safe drinking water at home. Piped water infrastructure remains out of reach for much of the developing world, and cheaper alternatives like…

Ep. 97: A short history of Asian immigration

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial group in the United States and are on track to become the largest immigrant group by 2050. Yet, researchers have devoted much less attention to this…

Ep. 96: W. E. B. Du Bois and the history of marginalism

W. E. B. Du Bois is remembered as a civil rights leader, sociologist, and author of The Souls of Black Folk. But before he became famous for his empirical studies of Black life in America, Du Bois…

Ep. 95: Diversifying college applications

Guidance counselors generally advise college applicants to diversify their applications across schools they believe to be safeties, matches, and reaches. Yet, prevailing economic theories of school…

Ep. 94: Targeted supply-side enforcement in the controlled substance market

Between 1997 and 2011, opioid dispensing in the United States more than tripled, fueling what would become the deadliest drug epidemic in American history. This surge in the supply of opioids was…

Ep. 93: Technological spillovers

The launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union in October 1957 led to a geopolitical crisis that reshaped American science policy. Within months, Congress established NASA, and by 1961, President Kennedy…

Ep. 92: Housing supply skepticism

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…

Ep. 91: Reviewing residential segregation

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…

Ep. 90: Understanding the US net foreign asset position

For decades, the United States enjoyed what some called an exorbitant privilege—the ability to spend more than it earned without accumulating much debt to the rest of the world. But that privilege…

Ep. 89: Measuring US income inequality

US household income has grown significantly, but much of that growth seems to be at the very top of the distribution. Just how much inequality has increased and why it is growing is a topic of…

Ep. 88: Understanding international approaches to drug pricing

Drug prices have become a hot-button issue in the United States, with politicians across the spectrum agreeing that American consumers pay too much for prescription medications. But bringing down…

Ep. 87: The cultural roots of rebellion

Civil conflict has plagued much of Africa, with ethnically diverse countries experiencing particularly high rates of violence. Yet within these nations, patterns vary, leading to questions of why…

Ep. 86: Reexamining air quality regulations

The Clean Air Act has been an essential tool for reducing air pollution in the United States. But standard estimation methods may overstate its impact, according to a paper in the American Economic…

Ep. 85: America's public safety net

The patchwork nature of America's public safety net has evolved over centuries, shaped by political winds and changing views on poverty. Understanding this complicated history may help shed light on…

Ep. 84: Media salience and polarization

Ep. 83: The returns to industrial policy

Between 2006 and 2013, China's government poured enormous resources into its shipbuilding industry through various subsidies—from providing free coastal land to offering financing assistance for ship…

Ep. 82: Service quality in the financial advisory industry

A growing number of US households hire advisers to assist with major financial decisions, such as planning life events or making portfolio choices for retirement. But some advisers exploit the…

Ep. 81: Assessing the Effects of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act

In 2017, then-President Trump signed into law the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, which was arguably the largest corporate tax cut in US history. The TCJA significantly lowered the statutory rate that…