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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.

AI, Tech & Energy

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
Browse AI, Tech & Energy Resources

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.

Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement

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
Browse Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement Resources

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.

Political Economy & Democracy
Browse Political Economy & Democracy Resources

Taxation

Equitable Growth supports research and policy analysis on how tax policies can promote stable and broad-based economic growth.

Taxation

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
Browse Taxation Resources

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.

Household Economic Security

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
Browse Household Economic Security Resources

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.

Economic Equity & Opportunity
Browse Economic Equity & Opportunity Resources

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.

Labor, Wages & Worker Power

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
Browse Labor, Wages & Worker Power Resources

How Ideas Move Into Policy Decisions

Policy Community
4

Disseminate research and policy guidance

1

Identify policy areas and issues

3

Conduct original research and identify spaces for effective policy interventions

2

Identify policy relevant and academically rigorous research questions

Academics

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.

Meet Our Academic Experts
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3,587 Results

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Policy

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)

AI, Tech & Energy Labor, Wages & Worker Power
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Policy

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)

AI, Tech & Energy Economic Equity & Opportunity Labor, Wages & Worker Power Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement
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Policy

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)

Economic Equity & Opportunity Household Economic Security Labor, Wages & Worker Power
What can federal data collection tell policymakers and researchers about artificial intelligence in the U.S. labor market?
Policy

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)

AI, Tech & Energy Labor, Wages & Worker Power
Watch Now: Defining extreme wealth is more complicated than it looks (opens in a new tab)
Policy

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)

Economic Equity & Opportunity Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement Taxation
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Policy

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)

AI, Tech & Energy Economic Equity & Opportunity Labor, Wages & Worker Power Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement
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Policy

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)

Economic Equity & Opportunity Labor, Wages & Worker Power Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement
Watch Now: The United States can simultaneously foster an equitable AI boom and a clean energy economy (opens in a new tab)
Policy

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)

AI, Tech & Energy Labor, Wages & Worker Power
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Policy

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)

AI, Tech & Energy Economic Equity & Opportunity Labor, Wages & Worker Power Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement
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Policy

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)

AI, Tech & Energy Economic Equity & Opportunity Labor, Wages & Worker Power
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?
Policy

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)

Household Economic Security
Watch Now: Equitable Growth event covers tariffs, tariff uncertainties, and the limits of U.S. trade policy (opens in a new tab)
Policy

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)

Taxation
ASSA 2026 Round-up: Day 2
Policy

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)

AI, Tech & Energy Competition & Economic Dynamism Economic Equity & Opportunity Household Economic Security Labor, Wages & Worker Power Macroeconomics & Economic Measurement Taxation
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