Research
The NBER conducts and disseminates independent, cutting-edge, non-partisan research that advances economic knowledge and informs policy makers and the business community.
New NBER Papers
-
Working Paper
We model the competition between digital forms of fiat money and private digital money (PDM). Countries strategically...
-
Working Paper
This paper examines how homeownership status shapes attention to inflation and its impact on durable consumption....
-
Working Paper
Do returns in private equity (PE) rise or fall with fund scale? This question is increasingly urgent amid larger funds...
-
Working Paper
Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in text generation, but their performance may...
-
Working Paper
We study the role played by Chinese state–owned firms during the US–China trade war. Based on measures constructed...
Latest Books
Keep Track of New NBER Working Papers with New This Week
The Digest
The Digest is a free monthly publication featuring non-technical summaries of research on topics of broad public interest.
Article
In 2009, responding to the so-called Great Recession, the federal government initiated a stimulus program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), that included infrastructure spending. The state of Texas used this funding to improve highways. It reaped a double benefit: the spending helped buoy its economy and the state completed projects more efficiently and at lower cost than in pre-recession times. In 2009, ARRA funding accounted for 38 percent of...
Article
Over the past century, transportation costs have fallen dramatically, yielding substantial economic benefits. In The Long-Run Effects of Transportation Productivity on the US Economy (NBER Working Paper 33248), A. Kerem Coşar, Sophie Osotimehin, and Latchezar Popov demonstrate how improved transportation efficiency has enhanced trade and boosted GDP.Rising productivity in the US transportation sector over the last 70 years has added 3 percent to GDP.The...
The Reporter
The Reporter is a free quarterly publication featuring program updates, affiliates writing about their research, and news about the NBER.
Article
Author(s):
The Market Design Working Group, established in 2009 under the leadership of Susan Athey and Parag Pathak, is a preeminent research forum in the field of market design. The working group meets annually, alternating between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Palo Alto, California, to present research that bridges theoretical economics and practical applications, all focused on what The Economist aptly characterized as “an intelligently designed invisible hand.”1 Research in market...
Article
Author(s):
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) may usher in the most significant economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution. For nearly a decade, as I witnessed the continuous progress in deep learning, I have been studying the economics of transformative AI — how our economy may be transformed as AI systems advance toward mastering all forms of cognitive work that can be performed by humans, including new tasks that don’t even exist yet. The prospect of...
The Bulletin on Retirement & Disability
The Bulletin on Retirement and Disability summarizes NBER research on retirement and disability. A quarterly, it is distributed digitally and is free.
Article
In Health Inequality and Economic Disparities by Race, Ethnicity, and Gender (NBER Working Paper 32971 an earlier version, NBER RDRC Paper NB23-11), Nicolò Russo, Rory McGee, Mariacristina De Nardi, Margherita Borella, and Ross Abram use data from the Health and Retirement Study over the period 1996–2018 to evaluate measures of health inequality in middle age and the consequences of such health disparities. At age 55, Black men and women...
Article
In How Do Economic Conditions Affect Earnings and Return to Disability Programs for Beneficiaries Whose Benefits Were Terminated? (NBER RDRC Paper NB22-03), Jeffrey Hemmeter, Kathleen Mullen, and Stephanie Rennane find that individuals whose benefits end due to medical improvement during an economic downturn earn less in the short run and are more likely to reapply for benefits within five years than those whose benefits end during stronger economic...
The Bulletin on Health
The Bulletin on Health summarizes recent NBER Working Papers pertaining to health topics. It is distributed digitally three times a year and is free.
Article
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) represent a growing global health crisis, with cases projected to reach 131.5 million by 2050. The economic burden is substantial: In 2020, ADRD cost the United States $305 billion, with forecasts suggesting a threefold increase over the next 35 years in the absence of effective interventions. While previous research has associated lower educational attainment with increased ADRD risk, establishing causality has proved...
Article
Naloxone, which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, is a critical tool for responding to the opioid crisis. However, prior to the 2010s, two barriers hindered its widespread distribution and use in the United States. One was legal access: Naloxone required a prescription from a healthcare provider. Another was that naloxone was administered by injection and therefore required training for proper use. In 2010, Illinois became the first state to adopt a dispensing...
The Bulletin on Entrepreneurship
Introducing recent NBER entrepreneurship research and the scholars who conduct it
Article
Sociologists have argued that “third places” like cafés, which provide opportunities for individuals to socialize and exchange ideas outside of home and work, improve neighborhood life. But what about the relationship between such places and economic activity? In Third Places and Neighborhood Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Starbucks Cafés (NBER Working Paper 32604), researchers Jinkyong Choi, Jorge Guzman, and Mario L. Small use data on US business...
Article
In Stock Market Wealth and Entrepreneurship (NBER Working Paper 32643), Gabriel Chodorow-Reich, Plamen T. Nenov, Vitor Santos, and Alp Simsek evaluate the relationship between the performance of a household’s stock market portfolio and the likelihood that someone in that household launches an entrepreneurial venture. They analyze administrative data from Norway’s shareholder register and compute the holdings of every Norwegian household in all...
Explore NBER-Based Research Projects
Learn about NBER Affiliated Scholars