Discussions of COVID-19 policy have often centered around two metrics: robust economic performance, as measured by GDP, and public health, as measured by deaths attributable to COVID-19. Places that do better on either metric, or both, are often judged to have had a better policy response than those that do worse. While this mode of analysis can be useful, there are reasons for caution.
Oct 21 2020
A Case for Thoughtful Reopening: The Value of Work and Mental Health Impacts of Unemployment
As states continue to move forward weighing the costs and benefits of reopening, it is important to not only consider the economic and health consequences, but also how government shutdowns harm Americans’ mental health due to a loss of income, work, and social connections.
Oct 05 2020
Cars, Kids, and Unintended Costs
Policy analysts on both the left and right are increasingly giving attention to the implications of falling birth rates and considering policies to reverse them.
Sep 30 2020
Saving and COVID-19
One unusual feature of the U.S. economy during the COVID-19 pandemic is a massive increase in saving. Saving nearly tripled over the first two quarters of 2020.
Sep 28 2020
An Update on Charitable Giving
The good news is that charitable giving last year rose overall, making 2019 giving the second highest to date in real terms (after 2017)
Sep 15 2020
COVID-19, School Closures, and School Choice
The pandemic need not have the final word; it can be an opportunity to ensure more parents have more opportunity to seek out an education that is not only high-quality, but one that is provided in the context they deem best for their individual needs.
A well-chosen and consistent monetary policy anchor will not solve every problem—and certainly not ones directly related to public health—but it can facilitate the execution of financial and business contracts and shore up the social contract by lowering uncertainty about the future.
Sep 09 2020
A Place to Call Home: Improving Foster Care and Adoption Policy to Give More Children a Stable Family
The need for foster and adoptive families is great. In 2018, more than 400,000 children were in foster care, and 18,000 youth left foster care without a permanent home.
Cities with higher murder rates this year tend to have lower overall social capital scores.
Jul 23 2020
The Demise of the Happy Two-Parent Home
As sources of valuable social capital, few relationships are as important as the family ties between parents and children. However, as with other features of our associational life, family ties have been weakening for several decades.
