Resources
From peer-reviewed research to accessible policy briefs, explore the scholarship that’s shaping debates and driving change.
505 Results
The deeper argument at the heart of the federal budget debate (opens in a new tab)
Reports OCT 5, 2026
Interest rates on the national debt have recently crept up to levels that the U.S. government and the American people haven’t experienced in several decades. This is a potentially concerning…
By: Michael Linden (opens in a new tab)
Trump’s trade war with Canada grows increasingly costly as Section 338 tariffs harm both economies (opens in a new tab)
Essays SEP 22, 2026
President Donald Trump continues to escalate his administration’s perplexing trade spat with Canada through the expanded use of novel tariff powers in Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.…
By: Christopher Bangert-Drowns (opens in a new tab)
What happens to U.S. workers without access to Unemployment Insurance amid economic downturns or disruptions related to AI? (opens in a new tab)
Essays SEP 2, 2026
The adoption of artificial intelligence in the workplace has led to predictions of U.S. labor market disruptions. In response, policymakers have increased attention on the fitness of the nation’s social…
By: Megan Rivera (opens in a new tab)
Defining extreme wealth is more complicated than it looks (opens in a new tab)
Videos AUG 13, 2026
Facing high levels of income and wealth inequality and shrinking tax revenues, U.S. policymakers are showing increased interest in proposals to tax the richest households. Yet determining which households fall into that category is complex and changes based…
By: Equitable Growth (opens in a new tab)
Estimating AI exposure is useful for research but cannot yet tell policymakers the whole story of AI’s impact on the labor market (opens in a new tab)
Essays AUG 7, 2026
Artificial intelligence has the potential to substantially change the nature and availability of work. To effectively manage the transitions this technology might bring to the U.S. economy, policymakers need information…
By: Chiara Chanoi (opens in a new tab)
The debt-to-wealth ratio: A missing lens on the U.S. government’s fiscal capacity (opens in a new tab)
Reports JUL 30, 2026
Few statistics shape the fiscal debate in the United States as powerfully as the ratio of federal debt-to-Gross Domestic Product. Debt held by the public recently surpassed 100 percent of…
By: Austin Clemens (opens in a new tab), David S. Mitchell (opens in a new tab)
The costs of the Trump administration’s tariffs diverge for countries and industries so far in 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUL 14, 2026
The first 4 months of 2026 saw continued seismic changes in U.S. trade policy. In late February, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration’s use of the International…
By: Christopher Bangert-Drowns (opens in a new tab)
Personal Income in the United States nudges up in May but is down 0.76 percent in the past 6 months (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUN 25, 2026
According to today’s release of Personal Income estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. household incomes have fallen 0.76 percent in the past 6 months, with month-to-month declines…
By: Austin Clemens (opens in a new tab)
U.S. income data for 2024 shows the top 10 percent accrued the highest share of income since 2000 (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUN 25, 2026
Today, Equitable Growth updated the U.S. Inequality Tracker through 2024 following the release of new data last week by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The data show that the…
By: Austin Clemens (opens in a new tab)
Factsheet: Defining top U.S. income and wealth thresholds for tax policy (opens in a new tab)
Factsheets MAY 27, 2026
Federal and state policymakers in the United States, responding to high levels of income and wealth inequality and shrinking tax revenues, are increasingly interested in proposals to tax households with…
By: Austin Clemens (opens in a new tab)
Defining top wealth and income thresholds for U.S. tax policy design and analysis (opens in a new tab)
Reports MAY 27, 2026
Wealth and income inequality are an ongoing area of interest for policymakers. In particular, the rise of the richest of the rich—not just the top 1 percent, but also the…
By: Austin Clemens (opens in a new tab)
What is the relationship between inflation, interest rates, and economic growth, and what does it mean for the new Federal Reserve chair? (opens in a new tab)
Issue Briefs MAY 18, 2026
Since regaining the Oval Office in early 2025, President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for lower interest rates and severely criticized former Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell’s cautious approach…
By: Jacob Robbins (opens in a new tab)
Tariff policies in 2025 increased input costs for key U.S. industries, threatening growth and investment (opens in a new tab)
Essays MAR 24, 2026
All tariffs are not created equal. Throughout U.S. history, policymakers have imposed import taxes for a variety of economic and ideological reasons, with varying impacts. Targeted tariffs have been effective…
By: Christopher Bangert-Drowns (opens in a new tab)
New research examines the historical macroeconomic effects of tariffs and sheds light on current U.S. trade policies (opens in a new tab)
Essays MAR 4, 2026
U.S. policymakers have enacted tariffs for a variety of reasons over the course of the country’s history. Motivated by economic pressures to raise federal revenues or address balance-of-payment issues, or…
By: Christopher Bangert-Drowns (opens in a new tab)
The state of the U.S. economy one year into the second Trump administration (opens in a new tab)
Essays FEB 23, 2026
President Donald Trump will soon give his annual State of the Union speech before Congress, one year into his second term in the White House. Ahead of his remarks, now…
By: Michael Linden (opens in a new tab)
Analyzing recent U.S. economic policies using Equitable Growth’s Inequality Tracker (opens in a new tab)
Essays JAN 22, 2026
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth’s Inequality Tracker is a data visualization tool designed to help policymakers and economic analysts examine and analyze U.S. income and wealth inequality in the…
By: Austin Clemens (opens in a new tab)
ASSA 2026 Round-up: Day 3 (opens in a new tab)
Blog JAN 6, 2026
Yesterday was the third and final day of the 2026 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held…
By: Equitable Growth (opens in a new tab)
ASSA 2026 Round-up: Day 2 (opens in a new tab)
Blog JAN 5, 2026
Yesterday was the second day of the 2026 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held in Philadelphia…
By: Equitable Growth (opens in a new tab)
What impact is artificial intelligence having on the U.S. labor market and the nation’s economy? (opens in a new tab)
Essays NOV 14, 2025
As new and groundbreaking technologies emerge, they can function as a blank canvas onto which people project both aspirations and anxieties. Artificial intelligence—despite its quick uptake in broader society and…
By: Megan Rivera (opens in a new tab)
Distributional weighting in benefit-cost analysis is practical and effective at assessing government rulemaking without bias against low-income individuals (opens in a new tab)
Reports NOV 13, 2025
Distributional weighting in benefit-cost analysis is a tool for overcoming bias against lower-income individuals in economists’ measurements of the net benefit of government policies that affect populations at different levels…
By: Daniel Acland (opens in a new tab)
Risks escalate for U.S. retirement plans due to unregulated private credit funds and new rules opening them up to retirement savings accounts (opens in a new tab)
Essays OCT 29, 2025
When the privately owned auto parts manufacturer First Brands Group earlier this month began to be unable to service its $6.1 billion debt load, the financial press began to pick…
By: Lenore Palladino (opens in a new tab)
The Federal Reserve must maintain its independence for the U.S. economy to thrive (opens in a new tab)
Essays AUG 28, 2025
President Donald Trump is attempting to fire Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to serve in that role. He probably lacks the legal authority to do…
By: Alan Blinder (opens in a new tab)
What is austerity, and how does it affect the broader U.S. economy? (opens in a new tab)
Reports AUG 12, 2025
With the passage into law of the Republican budget reconciliation bill last month and the recent work of the Department of Government Efficiency under Elon Musk, austerity is once again…
By: Ernie Tedeschi (opens in a new tab), Kevin Rinz (opens in a new tab)
Tariffs impact U.S. industries differently, with manufacturing the most exposed (opens in a new tab)
Issue Briefs JUL 29, 2025
Estimates in this brief were generated July 21, before the announcement of trade deals with Japan and the European Union. All data and code used in the Equitable Growth tariff…
By: Christopher Bangert-Drowns (opens in a new tab)
Accounting for capital gains in income significantly increases U.S. inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog JUL 15, 2025
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth’s recently launched U.S. Inequality Tracker uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis to show how income and wealth inequality have evolved in…
By: Austin Clemens (opens in a new tab)
Republican reconciliation bill’s cuts to social programs will damage some congressional districts’ local economies (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUL 11, 2025
In a recent working paper, Equitable Growth grantee Robert Manduca of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor demonstrates that government transfers make sizable contributions to local economies in much of…
By: Chiara Chanoi (opens in a new tab)
Slow wage growth is the key to understanding U.S. inequality in the 21st century (opens in a new tab)
Issue Briefs JUL 8, 2025
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth today launched the U.S. Inequality Tracker, which tracks income and wealth inequality in the United States and highlights how particular components of income and…
By: Austin Clemens (opens in a new tab)
Equitable Growth responds to passage of the federal budget bill (opens in a new tab)
Blog JUL 7, 2025
On Friday, President Donald Trump signed the 2025 federal budget bill, cementing into law the most regressive piece of tax and budget legislation to be passed in the United States…
By: Equitable Growth (opens in a new tab)
Americans informed about the distributional effects of Republicans’ tax and budget bill overwhelmingly oppose it (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUL 3, 2025
Republicans in the U.S. Senate recently passed a version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, championed by President Donald Trump. The House of Representatives passed an earlier version of…
By: Jacob Hacker (opens in a new tab), Patrick Sullivan (opens in a new tab)
Congressional Republicans’ budget bill is the most regressive in at least 40 years (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUN 25, 2025
The U.S. Congress is in the midst of debating a budget bill that would make massive changes to U.S. tax and spending policy over the course of the next decade…
By: Jacob Hacker (opens in a new tab), Patrick Sullivan (opens in a new tab)
Medicaid and SNAP cuts in congressional Republicans’ budget bill will negatively impact local economies (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUN 24, 2025
The budget reconciliation bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives proposes to make large cuts to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and other social programs to pay…
By: Robert Manduca (opens in a new tab)
Testimony by Michael Linden on “The Big Beautiful Betrayal—Working Folks Pay While The Mega Rich Profit” (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUN 17, 2025
Senator Kaine, Senator Murphy, and members of the Forum, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I’m going to make three key points. First, the Republican budget bill…
By: Michael Linden (opens in a new tab)
More accurately measuring economic sentiment will help build a U.S. economy—and democracy—that works for all (opens in a new tab)
Blog MAY 13, 2025
When politicians and members of the media discuss the state of “the economy” in the United States, they often use a small handful of data points. Of all the indicators…
By: Jonathan Cohen (opens in a new tab), Katherine Cramer (opens in a new tab)
Testimony by Michael Linden before the House Budget Committee (opens in a new tab)
Blog MAY 8, 2025
Chairman Arrington, Ranking Member Boyle, members of this committee, thank you for the opportunity to be here. Today, I’d like to make three main points. First, the main culprit responsible…
By: Michael Linden (opens in a new tab)
“Econ 101” briefing on taxing multinationals brings Hill staffers up to speed on U.S. role in coordinating global crack-down on tax avoidance (opens in a new tab)
Blog APR 3, 2025
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth last week hosted a briefing for Capitol Hill staffers on multinational corporate tax trends and policies—another in our “Econ 101” series for Hill staffers.…
By: Elena Patel (opens in a new tab)
Benchmarking the U.S. economy that President Donald Trump is set to inherit (opens in a new tab)
Issue Briefs JAN 16, 2025
When President Donald Trump takes the presidential oath of office again on January 20, he will be inheriting a very different economy, with a very different outlook, than the one…
By: Ernie Tedeschi (opens in a new tab)
ASSA 2025 Round-up: Day 2 (opens in a new tab)
Blog JAN 5, 2025
Yesterday was the second day of the 2025 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held in San…
By: Equitable Growth (opens in a new tab)
Addressing pervasive tax evasion by cryptocurrency users (opens in a new tab)
Blog NOV 21, 2024
The price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies reached record highs last week, buoyed by the U.S. election of Donald Trump, who is seen as friendly to this novel asset class,…
By: Magne Mogstad (opens in a new tab), Tom Meling (opens in a new tab), Arnstein Vestre (opens in a new tab)
The unequal impact of the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening and easing on firms in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog SEP 16, 2024
The easing of inflation in the U.S. economy beginning in 2022 and recent signs of weakness in the U.S. labor market over the past several quarters have led households and…
By: Ezgi Kurt (opens in a new tab)
A researcher’s guide to identifying policy-relevant research questions for the federal government (opens in a new tab)
Essays MAY 30, 2024
Social science researchers play an important role in the policymaking process. Researchers help policymakers at all levels of government to understand key trends and issues in the U.S. economy and…
By: Alexander Hertel-Fernandez (opens in a new tab)
New recommendations for an integrated system of U.S. inequality statistics chart a bold path forward (opens in a new tab)
Blog APR 23, 2024
A new report from the National Academy of Science’s Committee on National Statistics is packed with recommendations for building an integrated system of national statistics that can provide accurate and…
By: Austin Clemens (opens in a new tab)
Testimony by Michael Linden before the Joint Economic Committee (opens in a new tab)
Blog MAR 12, 2024
Chair Heinrich, Vice Chair Schweikert, Members of the Committee, thank you so much for extending me the opportunity to testify before you today. My testimony will broadly cover three important…
By: Michael Linden (opens in a new tab)
Ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address, the U.S. economy is strong (opens in a new tab)
Blog FEB 21, 2024
On March 7, President Joe Biden will deliver the 2024 State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress and the American public, in which he will tout his economic…
By: Austin Clemens (opens in a new tab)
Closing the billionaire borrowing loophole would strengthen the progressivity of the U.S. tax code (opens in a new tab)
Issue Briefs FEB 5, 2024
The vast majority of Americans are concerned that some wealthy people don’t pay their “fair share” of federal taxes. They’re right to be bothered: Loopholes in the U.S. tax code…
By: Edward Fox (opens in a new tab), Zachary Liscow (opens in a new tab)
New Circular A-4 offers opportunities for researchers interested in disaggregating the costs and benefits of U.S. regulations (opens in a new tab)
Blog FEB 1, 2024
This column is adapted from remarks I made at the Allied Social Sciences Associations 2024 annual meeting, held earlier this year in San Antonio, Texas, as part of a panel…
By: David S. Mitchell (opens in a new tab)
New research doesn’t overturn consensus on rising U.S. income inequality (opens in a new tab)
Issue Briefs JAN 10, 2024
New research from Gerald Auten at the U.S. Treasury Department and David Splinter at the U.S. Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation makes the counter-to-conventional-wisdom claim that U.S. income inequality has…
By: Austin Clemens (opens in a new tab)
Doubling down on cuts to the IRS is bad for the federal budget and for tax fairness in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog JAN 9, 2024
The U.S. Congress recently announced a bipartisan budget deal for fiscal year 2024 appropriations for the U.S. federal government. The budget is largely consistent with the framework agreed to in…
By: David S. Mitchell (opens in a new tab)
New evidence shows that limiting a tax break for highly leveraged firms doesn’t hurt the U.S. economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog NOV 21, 2023
Does increasing taxes on businesses reduce private-sector investment? Most economists agree that investment in new projects and technologies is a key driver of economic growth. While the tax code plays…
By: David S. Mitchell (opens in a new tab)
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