Recent News
April 14, 2024 – from Yale Economic Growth Center
Voices in Development: A Podcast from Yale's Economic Growth Center explores issues related to sustainable development and economic justice in low- and middle-income countries. With Francis Annan of UC Berkeley, Rausser College of Natural Resources and Rohini Pande of Yale Department of Economic
April 10, 2024 – from Northwestern Now
First deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Gopinath is leading research on AI’s impact on labor and markets
April 7, 2024 – from Daily Northwestern
March 20, 2024 – from National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Automatic or remote-control shutoff valves have been required on newly constructed pipelines located in or near populated and environmentally sensitive areas since 2022. They are intended to enable faster shutdowns of ruptured pipe segments. However, the requirement for “rupture mitigation valves” does not apply to pipelines installed prior to 2022. The report examines the regulatory requirements that apply and issues a series of recommendations for making sounder decisions about when and where to retroactively install these valves.
March 12, 2024 – from Northwestern Now
“Our study shows that since 1870, it has never been the case that immigrants as a group have been more incarcerated than the U.S.-born,” Jácome said.
February 29, 2024 – from National Science Foundation
Pei receives a five-year grant to use game theory to understand the circumstances under which economic agents (such as firms and politicians) have incentives to take socially desirable actions in long-term relationships.
February 14, 2024 – from IPR
Do non-traditional digital trace data and traditional survey data yield similar estimates of the impact of a cash transfer program? In a randomized controlled trial of Togo’s COVID-19 Novissi program, endline survey data indicate positive treatment effects on beneficiary food security, mental health, and self-perceived economic status. However, impact estimates based on mobile phone data – processed with machine learning to predict beneficiary welfare – do not yield similar results, even though related data and methods do accurately predict wealth and consumption in prior cross-sectional analysis in Togo. This limitation likely arises from the underlying difficulty of using mobile phone data to predict short-term changes in well-being within a rural population with fairly homogeneous baseline levels of poverty. The researchers discuss the implications of these results for using new digit
February 14, 2024 – from IPR
The researchers present an econometric structure for the analysis of intergenerational mobility that integrates non-linearities, the role of maternal-side effects and the impact of grandparents. They show how previously estimated models are special cases of this general framework and what specific assumptions each embeds. Their analysis of linked U. S. data 1900–40 reveals the extent to which inadequate consideration of assortative mating and the impact of mothers produces misleading conclusions.
February 8, 2024 – from NBER
How does immigration enforcement affect public safety? Heightened enforcement could reduce crime by deterring and incapacitating immigrant offenders or, alternatively, increase crime by discouraging victims from reporting offenses. We study the U.S. Secure Communities program, which expanded interior enforcement against unauthorized immigrants. Using national survey data, we find that the program reduced the likelihood that Hispanic victims reported crimes to police and increased the victimization of Hispanics. Total reported crimes are unchanged, masking these opposing effects. We provide evidence that reduced Hispanic reporting is the key driver of increased victimization. Our findings underscore the importance of trust in institutions as a central determinant of public safety.
February 7, 2024 – from Northwestern University
Nobel Prize-winning economist Dale Mortensen's research delved into questions such as the impact of unemployment benefits on job searches and the reasons behind wage discrepancies among similarly skilled workers.