Skip to main content

Research Archive

Welcome to Our Research Archive

Search and filter by content type, issue area, author, and keyword

November 21, 2025

Hungary’s Fertility Outcomes Highlight Pro-Natal Policy Limitations

Increasing fertility is an objective for many countries worldwide, but Hungary’s pro-natal policies have received an outsized amount of attention in recent years. Hungary is unique because its pro-natal policies have been bold and its objectives ambitious. Since 2010, Hungary has implemented a variety of policies, including zero-interest “baby-expecting” loans and debt forgiveness for couples…

By Vanessa Brown Calder

November 20, 2025

When help holds families back

One of the central contradictions in American politics today is that, despite decades of measurable progress for low-income families – marked by declining poverty rates, rising household incomes, and greater levels of consumption – many families continue to feel as though they are falling behind. Child poverty rates have dropped to near historic lows, and…

By Angela Rachidi

November 19, 2025

Real Estate Red Flag: How Hidden Blue-State Policies are Pricing Out Homeowners

A telling new analysis of rising home maintenance costs from the real estate listing service Zillow, in conjunction with Thumbtack, which tracks the cost of local services, should remind those promoting the virtues of homeownership that it’s key for new buyers to be prepared and capable owners. At the same time, the findings tell yet another story…

By Howard Husock

November 13, 2025

Is the US Really an Outlier on Pregnancy Deaths, and Have Such Deaths Spiked?

US pregnancy and postpartum deaths receive substantial news coverage, and reporting is frequently alarmist. This summer, a LiveScience article claimed that “pregnancy is deadlier in the US than in other wealthy countries.” The article stated that there were 19 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in the US, or more than twice as many…

By Vanessa Brown Calder

November 10, 2025

The Welfare Program You Never Heard About During the Shutdown

Americans have heard plenty about how, effective November 1, the federal government shutdown suspended regular food stamp payments to 42 million individuals. Food stamps are important welfare benefits paid to low-income families—or in recent weeks not paid. For all that attention on food stamps, however, almost no one has mentioned what once was the nation’s…

By Matt Weidinger

October 29, 2025

Who Is at Risk of Losing Snap Benefits Due to the Shutdown?

Unless the Senate passes legislation that reopens the federal government within the next few days (or the courts intervene), 22 million households containing 42 million individuals (approximately 12 percent of the US population) will not receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly called food stamps) starting November 1st. For background, SNAP provides nearly $8 billion per month in…

By Angela Rachidi

October 28, 2025

Suspending SNAP Benefits in November Could Push 2.9 Million People Into Poverty

The ongoing federal government shutdown has put into question whether the federal government will continue to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in November. SNAP is one of the most important safety net programs in the United States, providing food assistance to 42.7 million people in an average month in 2024, at an annual cost of…

By Kevin Corinth

October 23, 2025

Childcare Regulation Limits Choice and Opportunity

Regulation limits many aspects of opportunity and upward mobility. While analysts have highlighted the adverse impact of specific regulations — such as zoning, rent control, and occupational licensing — public discourse has given less attention to the costs and consequences of childcare regulations for families and care providers. Yet past and current research underscores these…

By Vanessa Brown Calder

October 21, 2025

Childcare Regulation and Affordability

AbstractIn recent decades, childcare costs have outpaced family incomes and put pressure on familybudgets. Legislators typically consider government subsidies to be the primary solution to risingcosts, despite the high cost of broadly subsidizing care and possible adverse effects on familiesand children. Yet policymakers have paid little attention to how existing regulations limit childcaresupply and increase…

By Vanessa Brown Calder

October 21, 2025

Reliability of Government Data Often Requires Asterisks, a Hazard That Predates Liberal Gripes About Trump Manipulating Statistics

Seattle slugger Cal Raleigh this year matched what once stood as a signature baseball record: Babe Ruth’s 60 home runs for the 1927 Yankees. Roger Maris first surpassed Ruth’s record, hitting 61 homers in 1961, but for decades his achievement was accompanied in record books by the most famous asterisk in history. Maris played a 162-game season, the asterisk…

By Matt Weidinger