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
Earned paid time off should be a basic right
Nine out of 10 Americans support the idea that all workers should have the right to take paid time off from their jobs. So why is getting paid time off so hard for American workers?
Economic Security & Inequality
Employment & Wages
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Papers
A primer on SNAP work requirements
Economic Security & Inequality
Employment & Wages
Social Insurance
Posts
Event recap—Reimagining homeowners insurance amid growing climate risk
Energy & Climate
Housing & Infrastructure
Policy Proposals
A proposal for a US federal property reinsurer
Energy & Climate
Housing & Infrastructure
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How will we know when a recession is coming?
Despite strong GDP growth and the longest uninterrupted streak of job growth in recorded U.S. history, another economic downturn will be inevitable. The Hamilt…
The damage done by recessions and how to respond
Automatic stabilizers are designed to expand during an economic downturn and contract during an expansion—providing timely and temporary fiscal stimulus. Boush…
How stabilizing has fiscal policy been?
Louise Sheiner and Michael Ng investigate the cyclicality of fiscal policy over the past 40 years, finding that fiscal policy has been increasingly countercycl…
Unemployment insurance and macroeconomic stabilization
Low recipiency rates and an imperfect Extended Benefits program weaken the unemployment insurance program’s effectiveness during recessions. Gabriel Chodorow-R…
Strengthening SNAP as an automatic stabilizer
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is both an effective antipoverty program and a natural automatic stabilizer, expanding when the economy is…
Recession Ready: Fiscal policies to stabilize the American economy
Slowdowns in the economy are inevitable. While it may be tempting to rely on Federal Reserve policy as a lone response to recessions, this would be a mistake; …
Infrastructure investment as an automatic stabilizer
Transportation infrastructure investment during economic downturns often occurs too slowly—and in insufficient quantities—to help stabilize the economy. Andrew…
Increasing federal support for state Medicaid and CHIP programs in response to economic downturns
In the face of large declines in tax revenues and increased demand for state programs during and after recessions, state governments are often forced to raise …
