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Research Briefs

Research Briefs·Jul 24, 2026

Financial Sanctions and the Global Payments Network

Gregor Matvos and Brent Neiman
The dollar-based correspondent network offers banks in emerging markets and developing countries greater ability to make and receive payments compared to other currencies’ networks. Financial sanctions are powerful because they sever or degrade access to the dollar network, leaving targeted...
Research Briefs·Jul 20, 2026

Stimulating Auto Markets

David W. Berger, Geoffrey Gee, Nick Turner, and Eric Zwick
The COVID-19 fiscal stimulus increased household car purchases by 5.5 million vehicles (3.2%) during 2020–2022, but accounts for less than 20% of the rise in auto prices, which is instead largely attributable to supply constraints, easier credit, and a pandemic...
Research Briefs·Jul 16, 2026

College Major Choice, Payoffs, and Gender Gaps

Christopher Campos, Pablo Muñoz, Alonso Bucarey, and Dante Contreras
Compared to men, women place greater weight on balancing career and family when choosing their college major, a difference in preferences that accounts for about 30% of the gender earnings gap among college graduates. Gender quotas in high-return fields can...

BFI Data Studio

BFI Data Studio·Jul 21, 2026

The Impact of Pay Period Reporting on Improper Redeterminations for Medicaid: Problems and Implications for Implementation

Peter Ganong, Hannah Garden-Monheit, Koren Gila, Gnora Mahs, Pascal Noel, and Dan Meuse
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BFI Data Studio·Jun 17, 2026

Carbon Prices, Forest Conservation and Reforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Juliano J. Assunção, Lars Peter Hansen, Todd Munson, and José A. Scheinkman
With modest transfers per ton of net CO₂, Brazil would find it optimal to choose policies that produce substantial capture of greenhouse gasses in the next 30 years, suggesting that the management of tropical forests could play an important role...
BFI Data Studio·Jun 10, 2026

Nursing Homes: Predictably Unpredictable Inspections

Ashvin Gandhi, Andrew Olenski, and Maggie Shi
In the United States, regulators inspect nursing homes to ensure compliance with quality, safety, and other standards. While these inspections are not technically announced, they are easy for nursing home staff to predict because they usually occur annually.

Podcasts

Podcasts episode·Jul 21, 2026

Passing the Pop Quiz: How Nursing Homes Predict Inspections, and What It Costs Patients

Tess Vigeland and Maggie Shi
In the United States, regulators inspect nursing homes to ensure compliance with quality, safety, and other standards. While these inspections are not technically announced, they are easy for nursing home staff to predict because they usually occur annually. In this...
Podcasts episode·Jul 7, 2026

AI and Early Childhood Development: The Importance of Human Interaction

Tess Vigeland and Dana Suskind
At a time when forty percent of American two-year-olds have their own tablet, a new generation of AI toys and chatbots is being marketed as a better alternative to screens. On this episode, Dana Suskind, pediatric cochlear implant surgeon, co-director...
Podcasts episode·Jun 23, 2026

Signal and Noise: Why Politics Is About Culture When Voters Want Economics

Tess Vigeland and Konstantin Sonin
Voters consistently say they care most about the economy — jobs, wages, inflation, the price of gas. So why are campaigns so often fought over culture? In this episode, Konstantin Sonin, the John Dewey Distinguished Service Professor at the University...

Initiative Insights

Initiative Insight·Apr 14, 2026

Digging Deeper Into The Human Side of Human Capital: Virginia Minni on Shaping Productivity Inside Firms

David Fettig and Sydney Turner
Virginia Minni studies employees and managers within firms, with a focus on corporate culture, meaning at work, and leadership. Though often labeled “soft” because they are difficult to define and measure, her research shows these factors play a critical—and often...
Initiative Insight·Aug 18, 2025

Reframing the Safety Net: Manasi Deshpande on the Unseen Impacts of Disability Policy

Sydney Turner
Economic theories often frame safety net debates in terms of work incentives, but Manasi Deshpande’s research reveals a more complex reality. Using linked administrative data, she shows how programs like Supplemental Security Income affect not just employment, but crime, mental...
Initiative Insight·Jul 31, 2025

What Two Years of Predoctoral Research Taught One Aspiring Economist

Maia Rabenold and Sydney Turner
Through the BFI Predoctoral Research in Economics Program program, Jialing Zhang tackled real-world economic challenges using machine learning and spatial data, helping build tools for GDP estimation in data-scarce regions. Zhang discusses how her journey through economics, mentorship, and discovery...

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