We document four features of consumption and income microdata: 1) household-level consumption is as volatile as household income on average, 2) household-level consumption has a positive but small correlation with income, 3) many low-wealth households have marginal propensities to consume near...

Credit markets typically freeze in recessions: access to credit declines and the cost of credit increases. A conventional policy response is to rely on monetary tools to saturate financial markets with liquidity. Given limited space for monetary policy in the current economic conditions, we...

We exploit a panel of city-level data with rich demographic information to estimate the distributional effects of Department of Defense spending and its effects on a range of social outcomes. The income generated by defense spending accrues predominantly to households without a bachelor's...

We evaluate alternative public debt management policies in light of constraints imposed by the effective lower bound on interest rates. Replacing the current limit on gross debt issued by the fiscal authority with a limit on consolidated debt of the government can ensure that output always...

This article surveys recent work on the role of law in determining economic aggregates such as gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation, and productivity growth. We provide a brief overview of macroeconomics and discuss how legal interventions and institutional arrangements such as...

This article surveys recent work on the role of law in determining economic aggregates such as gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation, and productivity growth. We provide a brief overview of macroeconomics and discuss how legal interventions and institutional arrangements such as...

We exploit a panel of city-level data with rich demographic information to estimate the distributional effects of Department of Defense spending and its effects on a range of social outcomes. The income generated by defense spending accrues predominantly to households without a bachelor's...

In response to the record-breaking COVID19 recession, many governments have adopted unprecedented fiscal stimuli. While countercyclical fiscal policy is effective in fighting conventional recessions, little is known about the effectiveness of fiscal policy in the current environment with...