Reports and Issue Briefs
Do Early Data Suggest a Pandemic-Induced “Baby Bust”?
Lower fertility can have serious economic ramifications, and from a social capital perspective, the recent birth decline has potential to reduce the number of family connections that enhance individuals’ lives and that sustain American communities.
State Inflation Tracker: March 2022
Americans are facing the highest inflation rates in decades, making it harder for them to afford everyday goods and more expensive to raise their families. Each month coinciding with the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s release of the Consumer Price Index, JEC Republicans’ State Inflation Tracker estimat...
Accountability for Bad Apples: Police Reforms to Restore Faith in Institutions
The widely publicized deaths of Floyd, Taylor, and several other Black Americans over the past few years have weakened trust, sparked outrage, and led to widespread demands for increased police accountability across the nation.
Reopen Readiness Metric Tracker Update
With more and more Americans vaccinated for COVID-19, many states have already moved into reopening phases. By consolidating the new information on vaccination rates with the existing state and county level parameters for monitoring reopen readiness, the data can continue to inform policymakers’ dec...
Does Social Media Outrage Erode Civil Society?
Moral outrage, whether manifested as righteous indignation or misinformed vitriol, is a powerful, motivating emotion. According to the social-psychological notion of “negativity bias,” our human tendency is to give greater weight to negative feelings, events, etc. because they are more potent and co...
The Epidemic Preceding the Pandemic: Will Utah's Progress Hold?
Falling overdose death rates in natural and semi-synthetic opioids, which include most prescription opioids, led the Utah decline. In contrast, the overall U.S. drug overdose death rate is still rising, led by synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
How Removing Tariffs Would Create Jobs and Boost the Recovery
The United States is facing an unprecedented crisis. As we work toward recovery, it is counterproductive to keep tariffs in place that hinder economic growth. Removing these trade barriers would lower costs for businesses and increase affordability for families during the recession. It would also st...
Expanding Child Care Choices: Reforming the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit to Improve Family Affordability
The issue of child care touches a bundle of related issues that reflect how we value family life and work. All parents face different trade-offs in making decisions that intersect with this Project’s goals of making it more affordable to raise a family, connecting people to work, and investing in yo...
What’s Next for Schools: Balancing the Costs of School Closures Against COVID-19 Health Risks
The COVID-19 pandemic altered the lives of every family in America and particularly affected American families with school-aged children. In March 2020, every school district in the country closed and transitioned to remote learning, and this posed new challenges for parents, teachers, and students....
The Epidemic Preceding the Pandemic: Opioid Overdoses Surge Again
Though a new year brings with it the hope for a better future, the COVID-19 pandemic inflicted incalculable pain and loss over the past year. That pain and loss came in a variety of forms, including a rise in drug overdoses. The opioid epidemic, already on a virulent upswing immediately prior to the...
