Policy Resources
From in-depth analysis to practical policy insights, find research that helps explain how economic policy shapes outcomes for workers, families, and long-term growth.
Our Policy Areas of Focus
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth connects economic evidence and policy to promote shared prosperity and growth by funding policy-relevant research, elevating scholars and their work, and translating evidence for policymakers.
How Ideas Move Into Policy Decisions
AI, Tech & Energy
Equitable Growth supports research and policy analysis on how artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and the energy transition affect workers, inequality, and broad-based economic growth.
To equip leaders to guide AI toward shared prosperity, our work examines:
- The impact of AI on employment levels, wages, and job content
- How AI drives macroeconomic impacts such as growth and productivity
- Market competition implications of AI use
- The use of algorithms in labor management
Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement
Equitable Growth supports research and policy analysis on how macroeconomic policies and better economic measurement can promote stable and broad-based economic growth.
To reduce volatility and strengthen individual and macroeconomic resilience for broad-based growth, we focus on:
- Automatic stabilizers that cushion downturns and promote more even recoveries
- Tools to respond to recessions that quickly stabilize households, boost the economy, and limit scarring
- Ways to encourage private investment and job growth
- Wealth inequality using novel data and analysis
- Policies to strengthen supply chains and support the energy transition
Political Economy & Democracy
Equitable Growth supports research and policy analysis on how economic inequality shapes political power and democratic institutions, and how that in turn affects broad-based economic growth.
Taxation
Equitable Growth supports research and policy analysis on how tax policies can promote stable and broad-based economic growth.
To provide evidence to policymakers on what effective reform entails, we focus on:
- Distributional analysis, including distributional weighting of benefit-cost analysis
- Pass-through and other business taxation
- Tax enforcement, especially related to large, complex partnerships
- Taxing wealth, including capital taxes on new forms of wealth such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency
Competition & Economic Dynamism
Equitable Growth supports research and policy analysis on how strong competition among U.S. businesses affects inequality and broad-based economic growth.
Household Economic Security
Equitable Growth supports research and policy analysis on how unequal access to care, 21st century work-life policies, and education undermines stable, broad-based economic growth.
We focus on:
- The efficacy of public benefit and social insurance programs
- Income security and access to wealth-building
- Policy effects on economic mobility
- The value of economic inclusion
- The impacts on workforce outcomes through policies such as schedule stability and childcare
Economic Equity & Opportunity
Equitable Growth supports research and policy analysis on how trends in economic inequality and mobility and changes in the economy have affected the concentration of wealth, income, and earnings, and how these distributional shifts have affected the promise of economic security and opportunity.
Labor, Wages & Worker Power
Equitable Growth supports research and policy analysis on how inequalities in wages, bargaining power, and the evolving labor market affect workers’ economic security and opportunity as well as broad-based economic growth.
We focus on:
- Unemployment and wage growth
- Bargaining power and union coverage
- Gender and race pay equity
- Nonwage amenities, job quality, and upward job mobility
How Ideas Move Into Policy Decisions
Disseminate research and policy guidance
Identify policy areas and issues
Conduct original research and identify spaces for effective policy interventions
Identify policy relevant and academically rigorous research questions
Progress depends on a continuous exchange between ideas and action.
Research helps define the questions that matter, while policy challenges shape the direction of inquiry. When these two stay connected, evidence becomes more than insight—it becomes a tool for better decisions.
That connection is powered by people.
At the center of this work is a network of more than 400 researchers focusing on real policy questions—helping explain economic trends, evaluate solutions, and inform decision-making.
3,820 Results
What Work Does Generative AI Do? (opens in a new tab)
Essays SEP 8, 2026
Since August 2024, our Real-Time Population Survey (RPS), a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults ages 18 to 64, has tracked how many Americans use generative artificial intelligence (AI). The adoption…
By: Alexander Bick (opens in a new tab), Adam Blandin (opens in a new tab), David Deming (opens in a new tab), Tyler Schumacher (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)
Economic research shows immigration is good for U.S. workers, the economy, and affordability (opens in a new tab)
Essays AUG 31, 2026
When President Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, mass deportations and immigration restrictions were renewed as one of the political priorities of his second administration. Since then,…
By: Christopher Bangert-Drowns (opens in a new tab)
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U.S. regions with more unauthorized immigrant workers experienced declines in new housing construction (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations AUG 31, 2026
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A large-scale deportation would shrink the U.S. economy, with particular harm to some states (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations AUG 31, 2026
What can federal data collection tell policymakers and researchers about artificial intelligence in the U.S. labor market? (opens in a new tab)
Issue Briefs AUG 24, 2026
It is impossible to perfectly predict how artificial intelligence will affect the U.S. labor market. Policymakers and researchers are grappling with important questions around this topic, including what new opportunities…
By: Mary Beech (opens in a new tab)
Terms and conditions for generative AI users outline a new legal framework that puts U.S. consumers at risk (opens in a new tab)
Essays AUG 20, 2026
Generative AI, or genAI, is a form of artificial intelligence that produces content in response to prompts and includes large language model chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude.…
By: Chiara Chanoi (opens in a new tab)
New research shows how U.S. homeownership and the accumulation of housing wealth are linked to political participation (opens in a new tab)
Essays AUG 14, 2026
Persistent affordability pressures have driven up housing costs for millions of U.S. families in recent years. Home prices remain near record highs relative to incomes, mortgage rates and associated costs…
By: Carlos Fernando Avenancio-Leon (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)
Tracking new research on artificial intelligence and its impact on the U.S. labor market (opens in a new tab)
Essays AUG 5, 2026
Headlines often paint extreme and dissonant pictures of the future impact of AI on the U.S. economy and labor market, with workers themselves echoing the conflicting feelings of optimism and…
By: Equitable Growth (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)
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Whether data from the Fed or from WID.world are used, U.S. debt-to-wealth measures show similar trends (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUL 22, 2026
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The United States sits in the middle of the pack on debt relative to wealth (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUL 22, 2026
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Explosion in post-1980 inequality largely explains low debt-to-top U.S. wealth ratios (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUL 22, 2026
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Measured against the wealth of the very top, U.S. debt is historically modest (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUL 22, 2026
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Private wealth has grown far faster than the overall U.S. economy in recent decades (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUL 22, 2026
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U.S. debt looks alarming against GDP but far less so against wealth (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUL 22, 2026
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)
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Certain U.S. manufacturing subsectors have experienced more tariff relief since the Supreme Court IEEPA ruling (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUL 13, 2026
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The U.S. Supreme Court IEEPA ruling reduced tariffs unevenly across key U.S. economic sectors (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUL 13, 2026
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U.S. trade with China has largely been supplanted by trade with other countries suspected of transshipment (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUL 13, 2026
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U.S. imports are up and tariff rates are down since the U.S. Supreme Court IEEPA ruling (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUL 13, 2026
Why Unemployment Insurance Alone Is Not Enough in the AI Era (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUL 8, 2026
Since the large language model ChatGPT was rolled out in November 2022, artificial intelligence has captured the public’s attention and generated myriad debates over the emerging technology’s potential impacts on…
By: Megan Rivera (opens in a new tab)
Streamlining applications to social programs unlocks more support for the U.S. families who need it most (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUL 7, 2026
Millions of low-income families in the United States tap into multiple social programs to help them meet their needs. A single household, for example, might rely on the Supplemental Nutrition…
By: Neil Cholli (opens in a new tab), Derek Wu (opens in a new tab)
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, one year later: Parsing the evidence on the law’s consequences so far (opens in a new tab)
Blog JUN 30, 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law one year ago on July 4, 2025, shifted trillions of dollars in income from working-class families to corporations and very wealthy…
By: Lily Roberts (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)
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Transfer income has fallen faster than other components of U.S. income over the past 3 months (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUN 25, 2026
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Income declines over the past 3 months and the past 6 months are higher for low-income U.S. households (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUN 25, 2026
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Personal Income is now declining year-over-year, a possible warning sign for the economy (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUN 25, 2026
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)
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U.S. income shares changed little due to the pandemic, with top decile and bottom half households making gains (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUN 24, 2026
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In a reversal of 21st century trends, wages grew faster for lower-income U.S. households in the pandemic era (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUN 24, 2026
U.S. workers will be hurt by immigration enforcement overreach (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUN 17, 2026
President Donald Trump last week signed the $70 billion Secure America Act, a budget reconciliation package that boosts funding for immigration and border enforcement agencies while imposing no limits on their authority.…
By: Christopher Bangert-Drowns (opens in a new tab)
The United States can simultaneously foster an equitable AI boom and a clean energy economy (opens in a new tab)
Videos JUN 12, 2026
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth recently hosted a timely discussion exploring how the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is colliding with—and reshaping—the clean energy transition. Bringing together researchers and…
By: Equitable Growth (opens in a new tab)
U.S. workers need sectoral bargaining now more than ever (opens in a new tab)
Essays JUN 4, 2026
U.S. union membership and coverage rates have declined for decades, fueled in part by legal barriers to new organizing, including the limiting of collective bargaining to specific workplaces or employers and misclassifying certain groups of workers so they…
By: Christopher Bangert-Drowns (opens in a new tab)
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Union coverage and auto employment were worse in Michigan than the broader U.S. amid the recovery from the Great Recession of 2007-2009 (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUN 3, 2026
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Union workers enjoy higher pay compared to nonunion workers (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUN 3, 2026
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Union coverage has declined across occupations in the past decade (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations JUN 3, 2026
In Conversation with Costa Samaras (opens in a new tab)
In Conversation JUN 2, 2026
Equitable Growth in Conversation is a recurring series where we talk with economists and other academics to help us better understand whether and how economic inequality affects economic growth and…
By: Shayna Strom (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)
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Realized capital gains are highly volatile, leading to large swings in the top 0.1% U.S. income thresholds (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 26, 2026
Navigating the research on the impacts of AI on work, workers, and the labor market (opens in a new tab)
Research Databases MAY 21, 2026
Artificial intelligence will have a largely unpredictable but potentially profound effect on the labor market. Individuals have speculated how AI will affect the workforce since its earliest developments. But public…
By: Chiara Chanoi (opens in a new tab)
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O*NET contains data on the abilities, skills, and actions needed to perform a job – revised (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 20, 2026
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)
The U.S. public is angry about economic conditions, and the middle class is losing ground. Are these trends connected? (opens in a new tab)
Essays MAY 14, 2026
A random sample of recent headlines likely would yield two fairly common stories about the U.S. economy. One is that the public is angry about the economy and the other…
By: Michael Linden (opens in a new tab)
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Real U.S. income gains have been falling for successive generations (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 13, 2026
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U.S. income growth for the middle class slowed substantially in the past four decades (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 13, 2026
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Income growth rates used to be similar along the income distribution, but that changed in the 1980s (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 13, 2026
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The middle is further from the top than it used to be—and the gap is growing (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 13, 2026
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U.S. income at the middle is growing and is higher today than it used to be (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 13, 2026
Is Taxing Wealth Possible? Practical? Desirable? Yes, if we’re smart about it (opens in a new tab)
Essays MAY 7, 2026
While the American economy has outperformed much of the industrialized world in recent years, there are good reasons to be deeply concerned about its long-term prospects. It is dogged by…
By: David S. Mitchell (opens in a new tab)
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Taxed capital gains are a tiny fraction of total capital gains, which have grown larger in recent decades (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 6, 2026
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Top tax rates have been cut dramatically (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 6, 2026
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Unrealized gains have grown substantially for richer, older Americans (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 6, 2026
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The wealthiest 0.1 percent of households own one-in-seven dollars (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 6, 2026
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Recent tax cuts have reduced revenue while economic growth has slowed (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 6, 2026
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The United States is a relatively low-tax and low-spend country (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 6, 2026
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Tax cuts are primarily responsible for the growing U.S. debt (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 6, 2026
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Taxes have become less progressive over time in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 6, 2026
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Income trend for the top 1% diverges from most Americans after 1980 (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAY 6, 2026
Research shows unions dampen support for right-wing populism and help workers navigate technological transitions (opens in a new tab)
Essays MAY 1, 2026
On May 1, much of the world—though not the United States—celebrates International Workers Day to honor the social and economic contributions of workers and labor unions. The May Day holiday began in large part to mark…
By: Christopher Bangert-Drowns (opens in a new tab)
Why the Iran war is bad for U.S. economic growth (opens in a new tab)
Essays APR 23, 2026
The growth trajectory of the U.S. economy is highly dependent on its connections to the outside world through trade and investments, as well as foreign policy and geopolitical developments. That…
By: Christopher Bangert-Drowns (opens in a new tab)
Research on climate change’s impact on U.S. workers underscores the benefits of workplace heat standards (opens in a new tab)
Essays APR 22, 2026
This year’s Earth Day follows a record-breaking heat wave across much of the East Coast, which followed a record-breaking heat wave that took hold in much of the West and…
By: Equitable Growth (opens in a new tab)
Factsheet: What the research says about early care and education in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Factsheets APR 16, 2026
Research has long shown the importance and value of high-quality early childhood care and education. Child care offers working parents the ability to fully participate in the labor force and…
By: Equitable Growth (opens in a new tab)
How does early childhood care and education affect U.S. families and workers, and which policies support child participation and boost the quality of care? (opens in a new tab)
Reports APR 16, 2026
As states consider policy action in early childhood care and education, there is an existing—and growing—evidence base from which to draw lessons. This report summarizes the rigorous evidence on program…
By: Chloe Gibbs (opens in a new tab)
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The U.S. child care industry was hit harder by COVID-19 than the rest of the economy (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations APR 15, 2026
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Higher-income U.S. families typically spend more on child care than families with less income (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations APR 15, 2026
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U.S. families pay more for infant care, center-based care, and for care in densely populated areas (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations APR 15, 2026
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The cost of child care in the United States has grown faster than other household necessities (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations APR 15, 2026
The other two-tiered U.S. tax system: How pass-through businesses let the ultra-wealthy dodge federal taxes (opens in a new tab)
Essays APR 15, 2026
Many Americans likely remember when the legendary value investor Warren Buffett drew attention to a glaring unfairness in the tax code by pointing out that he paid a lower effective…
By: David S. Mitchell (opens in a new tab)
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Pass-through business owners account for a much larger share of people and income in the top 1 percent than public company executives (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations APR 14, 2026
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Pass-through business income is highly concentrated among the very rich (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations APR 14, 2026
Federal policymakers can ensure Trump accounts do not exacerbate inequality in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Issue Briefs APR 14, 2026
In July 2025, Congress passed a federal budget bill (Public Law 119-21, also commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) that, among other things, established a new type…
By: Megan Rivera (opens in a new tab)
A review of the state of child care in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Reports APR 9, 2026
Affordable, available, high-quality child care is essential for sustained, broadly shared economic growth and equitable access to workforce opportunities. In most of the United States, however, child care fails this…
By: Sam Abbott (opens in a new tab), Shira Markoff (opens in a new tab)
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The U.S. child care sector recovered more slowly from the COVID-19 pandemic than the broader labor market (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations APR 8, 2026
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Wages for U.S. child care workers are low despite the high costs of care for families (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations APR 8, 2026
Equitable Growth event covers tariffs, tariff uncertainties, and the limits of U.S. trade policy (opens in a new tab)
Videos APR 1, 2026
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth recently hosted a webinar examining the economic, fiscal, and labor‑market effects of evolving U.S. tariff laws and regulations, particularly in the wake of the…
By: Christopher Bangert-Drowns (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)
Research-based perspectives on the connection between economic policy and rising support for authoritarian populism (opens in a new tab)
Essays MAR 19, 2026
In 2025, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth began to explore the evidence behind a link between the effects of economic policies and global support for authoritarian populist candidates for…
By: Melissa Grober-Morrow (opens in a new tab)
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Midwest and Southern workers are more concentrated in tariff-exposed industries (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAR 17, 2026
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Industries within the U.S. machinery manufacturing subsector faced different tariff costs in 2025 (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAR 17, 2026
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Industries within the U.S. metals manufacturing subsector faced different tariff costs in 2025 (opens in a new tab)
Visualizations MAR 17, 2026