What Keeps the Poor from “Smoothing” Financial Risk?
From mutual aid cooperatives to burial societies, numerous informal and semiformal institutions exist to help households deal with financial risk.
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Research Highlights
Community Eligibility Provision? More Lunches Can Mean Better Math Performance
Historically, family income determined student eligibility for the school meals program—the largest nutritional assistance program for school-aged children in the
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What We Learn from Migration to the Fracking Boom
State-to-state and county-to-county migration is an important way for local economies to recover and adjust after experiencing an unexpected downturn
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Adjunct Teaching Fuels Grade Inflation and Distorts Student Choices
Since the mid-1970s, higher education has increasingly relied on part-time, adjunct faculty. By 2015, 40% of classroom instructors were hired
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Noncompete Agreements—Understanding Implications for Low-Wage Workers
Signing a noncompete agreement (NCA) means workers are not allowed to work for companies that compete with their current employer
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Progressive Vouchers for Low-Income Students?
Eighteen states now have legislation that provides vouchers for students to attend private school, but school vouchers remain controversial. Detractors
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Measuring Skills—Do Our Methods Hold Up in Developing Countries?
Research has shown that cognitive and noncognitive skills play an essential role in success in life, and large investments are
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Does Greek Membership in College Improve Academic and Career Outcomes?
Almost a fifth of U.S. college students join a Greek organization during college, yet we know strikingly little about the
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Intergovernmental Grants to Local Communities—Gains Persist Years Later
Intergovernmental grants finance a substantial share of decentralized public service provision around the world, but we know little about the
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From Foster Care to Forever Families? How Does the Federal Adoption Tax Credit Affect Adoptions?
The Federal Adoption Tax Credit, introduced in 1997 to promote foster care adoption, became refundable for two tax years only,
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