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May 14, 2025

Graduation in the Time of COVID: The Weakened Relationship with Chronic Absenteeism

Key Points Chronic absenteeism soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, but counterintuitively, graduation rates over the same period also rose. Our conservative estimates show the relationship between chronic absenteeism and graduation…

May 7, 2025

Displacement by Design: How Bad Policy Made Housing Scarce, and How We Can Fix It

Musical chairs is one of the first games we play as children. The rules are simple: there are fewer chairs than players. When the music stops, someone ends up standing….

April 28, 2025

You Autor Know

Along with many other controversial issues in 2025, Americans are at odds over the merits of tariffs. Underlying this debate is a more specific one—the impact of increased trade with…

March 24, 2025

Tax Abatements: The Best-Kept Secret to Revitalizing Struggling Communities—Without Spending Taxpayer Money

A well-designed property tax abatement program can dramatically shift project economics by temporarily reducing tax burdens, making new housing development financially viable—without requiring government subsidies. Philadelphia’s 10-year tax abatement is…

March 13, 2025

Trends in Net College Tuition and Financial Aid, 1990–2020

Key Points  While the sticker price of college rose $13,717 in real terms between 1989–90 and 2019–20, the net tuition students pay after financial aid rose just $4,526. However, the…

March 10, 2025

Many Children Left Behind: The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress Results Indicate a Five-Alarm Fire

Key Points  The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores underline a continuing decline in educational achievement in the United States. The Institute of Education Sciences’ tendency to favor…

February 24, 2025

A Conservative Vision for Higher Education Reform

Key Points The Trump administration offers an opportunity for meaningful and overdue reform of higher education following a period of halted progress during the Biden administration. Colleges should be delivering…

February 18, 2025

Family-Friendly Policies for the 119th Congress

Key Points American birth rates have hit record lows, but Americans still say they want children. Family formation seems unattainable to many parents. There is no single federal policy that…

January 30, 2025

Eliminating the Benefit Cliff and Achieving Savings for Taxpayers: A Reform Proposal for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Key Points The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the nation’s largest safety-net programs for low-income households in the US, distributing over $94 billion in food benefits in…

January 29, 2025

How State Governments Can Fight Degree Inflation

Key Points State governments contribute to degree inflation—the addition of college degree requirements to jobs that did not previously have them—through their own hiring practices, and through occupational licensing laws….