National Bureau of Economic Research

Observers of the 2021–2023 inflation noticed that cheaper products exhibited much higher inflation rates. What explains these differences in inflation, and what are the effects on households across the income spectrum? In Cheapflation Cycles (NBER Working Paper 35235), Kunal Sangani finds that the way firms pass through cost changes creates systematic differences in inflation between cheap and expensive product varieties, leading to differences in inflation experienced by consumers in different income strata. The study draws primarily on NielsenIQ retail scanner data covering food-at-home sales across more than 30,000 retail stores from 2006 to 2023, alongside NielsenIQ Homescan Consumer Panel data...

More than 2,700 researchers, hailing from 39 countries, traveled to Cambridge, MA for the 49th annual NBER Summer Institute in mid-July. The Summer Institute included 49 distinct workshops arranged by more than 150 organizers. Most of the meetings were streamed on the NBER’s YouTube channel.

The participants represented more than 400 universities, central banks, think tanks, businesses, and government agencies. Just over one third were NBER affiliates, and nearly one sixth—470—were attending Summer Institute for the first time. 

The 591 research papers presented over the three weeks were selected from 3,986 submissions, implying an acceptance rate of 14.8…

The NBER Economics of Education Program covers topics related to education in a manner that is deeply informed by economic logic and empirical methods. The program draws upon theory from several fields including public, labor, development, and urban economics, as well as industrial organization. The program has 179 members and meets three times a year in Cambridge, Chicago, Stanford, and Washington. The average meeting attracts about 100 submissions for a program of about 10 papers. The program has a culture that combines rigor, constructive advice, and noteworthy collegiality.

Top North American universities are very well represented, but the Economics of Education draws participants from many states, countries, universities, and organizations. While the papers often analyze high-income countries’ policies, most of the…

Nursing homes certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide care and receive public reimbursement through Medicare and Medicaid are subject to mandatory annual inspections. While inspections are unannounced, they typically occur on an approximately yearly basis, as 74 percent of inspections take place between 40 and 60 weeks after the previous one. The average gap is around 53 weeks. Due to the cyclical nature of inspections, nursing home operators are able to anticipate when an inspection is likely and adjust their behavior accordingly. They appear to devote more effort to patient care when inspections are approaching.

In Predictably Unpredictable Inspections (NBER Working Paper 34491), Ashvin Gandhi, Andrew Olenski, and Maggie Shi study how the predictability of nursing home inspections shapes facility effort and patient...

Roughly one-quarter of new employer businesses in the United States are started by immigrants. Immigrant inventors have been responsible for approximately 23 percent of US patents produced since 1976 despite making up only 16 percent of the total US-based inventor population. Yet immigrant entrepreneurs usually do not build companies in isolation—many cofound startups alongside US-born entrepreneurs. In Native-Immigrant Entrepreneurial Synergies (NBER Working Paper 33804), Zhao Jin, Amir Kermani, and Timothy McQuade examine whether startups cofounded by immigrant and native entrepreneurs outperform those with founders from exclusively one...