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New in the NBER Digest

Current Population Survey Overestimates Poverty Rate

NBER researchers find widespread misreporting and other errors in the Current Population Survey that lead to overstatement of the incidence of poverty, the degree of income inequality, and the number of people falling through the safety net in the United States. Their study is summarized in the February edition of The NBER Digest. Other studies in the monthly Digest explore the decline in high-growth job-creating firms in the United States, the effect of assimilation on immigrants’ labor supply, the impact of monopoly power on hospital pricing, results of the Acid Rain Program’s cap-and-trade provisions, and effects of a California law mandating paid family leaves.

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New in the NBER Reporter

Fiscal Policy in Emerging Markets:
Procyclicality and Graduation

Why do so many emerging-market countries pursue procyclical fiscal policies when almost all developed countries have countercyclical policies? Carlos A. Vegh, a professor of international economics at Johns Hopkins University, analyzes this question in the latest edition of the quarterly NBER Reporter. He also explores factors that influence the size of fiscal multipliers – such as exchange-rate structure, debt levels, and the stage of the business cycle – and finds that multipliers are highest in recessions when government spending is trending upward. Read his analysis or download a pdf of the 2015:4 Reporter.

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Bulletin on Aging and Health

What Is the Value of Medicaid?

While Medicaid is the largest means-tested program in the United States, it has not been clear how to assess its value: How do Medicaid’s welfare benefits compare to its costs? How do its benefits compare to the benefits of other cash-based transfer programs? NBER research associates develop two analytical frameworks in research presented in the latest Bulletin on Aging and Health.

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Disability Insurance Programs and Retirement

Vol. 6 in Series on Social Security Around World

Disability insurance programs can play a significant role in the departure of older workers; in some countries, many individuals rely on disability insurance until they are able to enter into full retirement. The sixth stage of an ongoing research project studying the relationship between social security programs and labor force participation, this volume draws on the work of an eminent group of international economists to consider the extent to which differences in labor force participation across countries are determined by the provisions of disability insurance programs. Edited by David A. Wise; published by The University of Chicago Press.

Details and ordering information