Publications
The Hamilton Project produces and commissions policy proposals and analyses to promote broad-based economic growth by embracing a significant role for well-designed government policies and public investment.
Posts
Tariffs are a particularly bad way to raise revenue
In this explainer, Jay C. Shambaugh shows why tariffs are a particularly bad way to raise funds for the U.S. government.
Effective Government
Healthy Economy
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Posts
SNAP cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will significantly impair recession response
Economic Security & Inequality
Recessions
Social Insurance
Posts
Tracking National Labor Relations Board actions through its administrative data
Effective Government
Employment & Wages
Economic Facts
Seven economic facts about prime-age labor force participation
Employment & Wages
Explore All Publications
Posts
October 12, 2020
What could additional fiscal policy do for the economy in the next three years?
This analysis shows the effects on economic activity, as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), of illustrative versions of several policies. Specifical…
Posts
March 2, 2020
What should a fiscal response to a COVID-19 outbreak look like?
Hamilton Project Director Jay Shambaugh comments on the COVID-19 virus and how economic policies with automatic triggers can alleviate the financial burden of …
Policy Proposals
March 15, 2019
Proposals for improving the US pretrial system
On any given day, there are roughly half a million individuals in custody awaiting trial in the United States, nearly double that of any other country. This hi…
Economic Facts
March 15, 2019
Nine facts about monetary sanctions in the criminal justice system
Interacting with the criminal justice system is an expensive proposition. Its reliance on bail to encourage return after pretrial release, on fines to punish a…
Policy Proposals
January 31, 2019
Fact-based policy: How do state and local governments accomplish it?
Policymakers at the state and local levels tackle some of the toughest problems facing society. To make measurable progress in solving these problems, public p…
Papers
December 19, 2018
The economics of bail and pretrial detention
Two thirds of the jail population consist of defendants who have not been convicted. This paper characterizes key trends in pretrial detention and the bail sys…
Posts
February 16, 2018
It is impossible to make sound policy without high-quality data
The President’s 2019 budget contains a variety of proposals that would reshape policy and reallocate spending across various agencies and policy programs. As t…
Posts
March 1, 2017
Defending the data
Federal statistical agencies provide indispensable data that strengthens governance, research, and innovation. In this blog, The Hamilton Project explores one …
