IN BRIEF: Pandemic-Era Student Learning Loss and the Policy Response
BRIEFLY The COVID-19 pandemic created not only a public health emergency but a youth education crisis as well. Decades of progress in math and reading among America’s students were wiped away in two years. The federal government passed three rounds of funding to help school districts mitigate the disruptions of the pandemic, but that aid ...
Aspen Economic Strategy Group Welcomes Five New Members
WASHINGTON, DC, JANUARY 22, 2024 – The Aspen Economic Strategy Group (AESG) today announced five new members have joined the sixty-five-member, bipartisan group of distinguished leaders and thinkers who share the goal of promoting evidence-based solutions to significant challenges confronting the American economy. Established in 2017 and co-chaired by former U.S. Secretaries of the Treasury ...
The Small Role of Ivy League Schools in US Higher Education
The conversation about higher education admissions in the US is often dominated by developments at the eight Ivy League institutions. While there are good reasons to debate admissions at these elite schools (because, for instance, economists have found that their graduates hold a disproportionately large share of leadership positions in business and politics), this post ...
Chronicle of Higher Education Op-Ed: Yes, College is ‘Worth It’
It’s time to retire skepticism around the value of a degree. Questions regarding the value of a college education have spiked recently, highlighted by high-profile media coverage. Beyond the hype, three substantive attacks have been levied: (1) the college wage premium is illusory, (2) the lifetime wealth premium that college graduates receive is disappearing, and (3) the risk ...
In Brief: Building Security in the Semiconductor Supply Chain
BRIEFLY Semiconductors are the building blocks of almost every modern technology, from dishwashers to smartphones to javelin missiles. Shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with rising geopolitical tensions in the region where most chips are produced, have highlighted the fragile supply chains of this critical technology. In response, US policymakers have invested billions in the ...
The Widening Economic and Social Gaps Between Young Men and Women
Recent social and economic data has revealed a troubling trend: young men in the US are increasingly falling behind their female peers, a long-widening gap that has accelerated in the wake of COVID-19. Many young men have struggled to navigate the disruptions associated with the pandemic, resulting in stagnating labor force participation rates, declining college ...
Why Crime Matters, and What to Do About It
In this paper, Jennifer Doleac describes what is known about crime trends in the US and outlines the best evidence to date on the effectiveness of various approaches to reducing crime through prevention, deterrence, and rehabilitation. Crime in the US rose during the 1980s and early 1990s before declining steadily until 2020. During the COVID-19 ...
Austan D. Goolsbee
AUSTAN GOOLSBEE is president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. In this capacity, he serves on the Federal Open Market Committee—the Federal Reserve System’s monetary policymaking body—and leads the Chicago Fed, which conducts research and monitors local economic conditions in support of the formulation of monetary policy, supervises and regulates ...
Michael A. Nutter
MICHAEL A. NUTTER is a former two-term mayor of Philadelphia who previously spent nearly 15 years in the Philadelphia City Council. Since leaving public office in 2016, he has remained active in public policy, government, and civic life. He is the inaugural David N. Dinkins Professor of Professional Practice in Urban and Public Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and holds fellowships ...