All Research
Commentary
Opportunity Book: A New Tool for Connecting Policymakers with Innovative Ideas
Today the Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is releasing Opportunity Book, a new online tool that connects policymakers, journalists, and researchers with innovative…
Commentary
Young Men’s Earnings over the Long Run – An Update
Let me start with the chart: Median pre-tax earnings of men ages 25-29 rose 24 percent ($10,800) from 1973 to 2024, and median post-tax compensation rose 40 percent ($15,500). The…
Commentary
Is There Really Pent-Up Demand for Ten Times the Manufacturing Jobs We Have?
Data analysis is hard. Admittedly, the consequences of getting it wrong are less severe than a botched surgery. But you still want to be very careful. It’s all too easy…
Commentary
A Model for Effective and Reasonable Work Requirements
…Director for the Bronx, one of us (Scott Wetzler) has considerable experience implementing the WeCARE program model in a fair, reasonable, and effective manner. Applicants for TANF benefits who self-identify…
Commentary
Two Cheers for Shrinking Black-White Opportunity Gaps
The latest in a series of important reports on social mobility by the research group Opportunity Insights is out, and it’s another conversation-changer. Across a variety of outcomes in adulthood…
Commentary
Exploring Trends in Food Bank Use
…ask nearly identical questions, results from the HPS can differ substantially from the FSS. For example, a 2021 report by one of us (Rachidi, with co-author Scott Winship) demonstrated the…
Commentary
How Many Forms of “Wage Insurance” Do We Need, Exactly?
…Scott Winship, “A Safety Net for the Future: Overcoming the Root Causes of Poverty,” in American Renewal, ed. Paul Ryan and Angela Rachidi. Consider just some of the major social…
Commentary
Options for Improving the Child Tax Credit Provisions in H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024
H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, passed the House on January 31, 2024 and now faces an uncertain fate in the Senate. The…
Commentary
CTC Expansion Rooted in Desire to Roll Back Work-based Welfare
…led by our colleagues Kevin Corinth and Scott Winship, the potential negative employment effects from the proposed lookback policy are notable. We estimated a net employment reduction from a permanent…
Commentary
Another Flawed Analysis Shows that Single Mothers are Highly Sensitive to Changes in Work Incentives
Tuesday, I published a critique of a paper by Council of Economic Advisers senior economist Jacob Bastian related to the debate over expanding the child tax credit (CTC). In that…
Commentary
Research by a Top Biden Administration Economist Reinforces the Importance of Work Incentives in the Child Tax Credit and the Safety Net
For the past two years, economist Jacob Bastian has been the main researcher dedicated to trumpeting the virtues of a child tax credit (CTC) expansion. Writing first as an economist…
Commentary
The Wyden-Smith Child Tax Credit and Work: Responding to Critics
The Wyden-Smith tax bill under consideration in the House has rekindled a debate about the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and work incentives. We, along with our colleagues, Angela Rachidi and…