2026
The Brookings Economic Studies program provides analysis of current and emerging economic issues to promote innovative and practical policy solutions. Economic Studies scholars conduct rigorous research and policy analysis and communicate their findings to inform policymakers and the public in the areas of broad-based economic growth, economic opportunity and mobility, inclusive social policy, sound monetary and fiscal policy, and climate-resilient growth.
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E.J. Dionne, Jr., Marcela Escobari, Ben Harris, Suzanne Maloney
October 20, 2026
Chris Hughes
October 19, 2026
Daniele Marchesi, Milena Nikolova
October 16, 2026
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2026
The Brookings Institution, Washington D.C.
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2026
The Brookings Institution, Washington D.C.
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In the news
As Brookings scholar Jessica Riedl put it, “Politicians no longer care about budget deficits because voters no longer care.”
Gopi Shah Goda joined Bloomberg TV for their segment on “Why Humanoid Robots Might Be the Future of Elder Care.”
Gopi Shah Goda
Director - Retirement Security Project, Alice M. Rivlin Chair in Economic Policy, Senior Fellow - Economic Studies @ipogadogThere’s an opportunity to be the voice of calm and I don’t think tearing up the Fed and having five dissents on wording is the way he’s going to want to do that.”
David Wessel
Director - The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Senior Fellow - Economic Studies @davidmwesselAny way you cut it, there are tens of thousands of children who have experienced parental detention since this president entered office. The majority are U.S. citizens.”
Tara Watson
Director - Center for Economic Security and Opportunity, John C. and Nancy D. Whitehead Chair, Senior Fellow - Economic Studies @taraelizwatson.bsky.socialThe big plus is the way [Warsh] has protected central bank independence. That is the most important thing for the future of the Federal Reserve.”
Donald Kohn
Robert V. Roosa Chair in International Economics, Senior Fellow - Economic StudiesJessica Riedl spoke with the New York Times about the roughly $1.5 trillion sought for the Pentagon budget next fiscal year, amounting to about 4.5 percent of the nation’s GDP.
Nellie Liang is interviewed in the New York Times on the potential for a crisis on the scale of the 2008 financial crisis.
Elena Patel spoke with CNBC about the “no tax on tips” deduction and how some low-income filers who don’t typically pay federal income tax won’t see big refunds.
Elena Patel
Co-Director - Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, Pozen Director's Chair, Senior Fellow - Economic Studies @elenaspatelIf your goal is to reshore manufacturing, of course that’s going to be more expensive because the reason it was offshored in the first place was because corporations wanted to lower..."
Ben Harris
Vice President and Director - Economic Studies, The Bruce and Virginia MacLaury Chair @econ_harrisLauren Bauer was interviewed by Axios for a story on the government shutdown’s impacts on SNAP benefits.
Lauren Bauer
Fellow - Economic Studies, Associate Director - The Hamilton Project @laurenhlb.bsky.socialBrookings Papers on Economic Activity
The Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) is a semi-annual academic conference and journal that pairs rigorous research with real-time policy analysis to address the most urgent economic challenges of the day.
2026
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