We use novel and unique survey data from Italy to shed light on key questions regarding the measurement of social capital and the use of social capital indicators for empirical work. Our data cover a sample of over 600,000 respondents interviewed between 2000 and 2015. We identify four distinct...

Consumer choices are increasingly mediated by algorithms, which use data on those past choices to infer consumer preferences and then curate future choice sets. Behavioral economics suggests one reason these algorithms so often fail: choices can systematically deviate from preferences. For...

This article explores subjects in optimal income taxation characterized by recent research interest, practical importance in light of concerns about inequality, potential for misunderstanding, and prospects for advancement. Throughout, the analysis highlights paths for further investigation....

This paper is a non-technical and somewhat philosophical essay, that seeks to investigate the relationship between economics and reality. More precisely, it asks how reality in the form empirical evidence does or does not influence economic thinking and theory. In particular, which role do...

This chapter provides a selective review of some contemporary approaches to program evaluation. One motivation for our review is the recent emergence and increasing use of a particular kind of "program" in applied microeconomic research, the so-called Regression Discontinuity (RD) Design of...

Large Language Models (LLMs) are proving to be a powerful toolkit for management and organizational research. While early work has largely focused on the value of these tools for data processing and replicating survey-based research, the potential of LLMs for theory building is yet to be...

Research on the social safety net examines its effects on recipients and their families. We show that these effects extend beyond recipients' families. Using a regression discontinuity design and administrative data, we study a Danish policy that cut welfare benefits for refugees, increasing...

Conditionality can prevent poor households from receiving cash transfers. Re-analyzing five randomized evaluations of conditional cash transfers, we find: (1) non-compliers -- households that do not meet education conditions -- are common, representing 4.6% to 37% of eligible households; (2)...

We develop a dynamic political-economic theory of welfare state and immigration policies, featuring three distinct voting groups: skilled workers, unskilled workers, and old retirees. The essence of inter- and intra-generational redistribution of a typical welfare system is captured with a...