All Research

April 17, 2023

Data Tools 6: The Geography of Traditional Families in America

The sixth in a series from Charles Murray. “Every generation, civilization is invaded by barbarians—we call them ‘children.’” These words, often attributed to Hannah Arendt, express a truth that societies have known since societies began: Children must be socialized. Two other truths that societies have instinctively known for millennia are that the birth parents must…

By Charles Murray

April 4, 2023

Why Foster Children Are Sleeping in Offices and What We Can Do About It

Key Points Read the PDF. Introduction Across the country, child welfare systems are struggling to find placements for children and youth in foster care—especially those who are older and have higher levels of need. While bed shortages have long plagued child welfare systems, a confluence of issues has caused the problem to metastasize into a crisis. These issues include…

By Sean Hughes | Naomi Schaefer Riley et al

February 22, 2023

Unlocking the Future

Editor’s Note: The following chapters are AEI scholars’ contributions to a report from Opportunity America’s working group on K-12 education. The toll of the pandemic years is becoming clearer every day: devastating learning loss among the nation’s K-12 students. Parents are angry, voting for change and telling pollsters they want more control over their children’s…

By Ian Rowe | John Bailey | Robert Pondiscio | Jessica Schurz

February 1, 2023

The Change in Poverty from 1995 to 2016 Among Single‐Parent Families

Whether poverty has risen or fallen over time is a key barometer of societal progress. Between 1970 and 2020, the official poverty rate in the United States fell by just 1.2 percentage points (9.5 percent), suggesting limited economic gains for the disadvantaged despite large investments in anti‐poverty programs. In contrast, several recent studies have found much…

By Kevin Corinth | Bruce D. Meyer | Derek Wu

January 5, 2023

Defending the American Dream with Michael Strain

Our interview this week is with the American Enterprise Institute’s Michael Strain. Michael is the author of The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It), and we talk about how real blue-collar wages in America have not been stagnant for decades, despite what you might have heard.

By Michael R. Strain

January 5, 2023

Faith After the Pandemic: How COVID-19 Changed American Religion

Key Points Read the PDF. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic touched nearly every aspect of American life. Schools, offices, grocery stores, and churches faced daunting challenges in the early days of the pandemic in their efforts to operate while keeping their employees, members, and the broader community safe. For churches and religious organizations, concerns over COVID-19…

By Daniel A. Cox | Jennifer Benz | Lindsey Witt-Swanson

December 15, 2022

The Myth of Income Stagnation

According to the conventional wisdom, income stagnation and inequality are large and growing threats to broad-based prosperity in the United States. Many economists, journalists, business leaders, and elected leaders (from both parties) believe that for a large share of households, real (inflation-adjusted) income has not increased for decades, and that income inequality – the gap between higher- and lower-income households –…

By Michael R. Strain

December 9, 2022

“Automatic Stimulus”: How It Would Have Increased the Record Unemployment Benefits Paid During the Great Recession and Pandemic

Key Points Read the PDF. Executive Summary The COVID-19 pandemic saw unemployment claims reach a high of over 33 million in June 2020—over two and a half times the prior record set during the Great Recession. From March 2020 until temporary federal programs expired in September 2021, nearly 1.6 billion weeks of benefit checks were…

By Matt Weidinger

November 28, 2022

Public School Instructional Offerings and Enrollment Changes: Evidence from Two Years After the Pandemic

Key Points Read the PDF. Executive Summary We examine how COVID-related reopening policies during the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years affected enrollment in public school districts. We use difference-in-differences and event study designs to estimate plausibly causal effects of different reopening policies on public school enrollment. Consistent with prior research, we find that public school…

By Nat Malkus | Cody Christensen

September 21, 2022

Lessons from the Unprecedented Fraud and Abuse of the Unemployment Benefits System During the Pandemic

Chairman DeSaulnier, Ranking Member Allen, and other members of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, thank you for inviting me to testify at this morning’s hearing examining the administration of the Unemployment Insurance system. My name is Matt Weidinger, and I am a senior fellow and Rowe Scholar in poverty studies at the…