What We Do

We carry out data-driven research on the causes and consequences of recessions and on the effects of macroeconomic policies such as monetary and fiscal policy.

We bring a variety of novel data sources and empirical methods to bear on these questions, including measures of prices and economic growth at the state and local level, high frequency financial data, cross-country historical data, and granular “big” data on prices and individual households. Our hope is that better empirical evidence on key macroeconomic questions will increase the role of data-driven decision-making, and reduce the role of ideology, in macroeconomic policy. As a byproduct of our research, we develop new datasets that other researchers can use to study these questions, and join in the debate.