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The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and American Labor Markets

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and American Labor Markets

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The effect of immigrants on the economy and on the jobs available to native workers has been a controversial topic throughout US history, and it continues to be so today. The Chinese Exclusion Act, which was enacted in 1882 and banned nearly all Chinese workers from immigrating to the United States, is one of the most substantial anti-immigrant initiatives. In The Impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act on the Economic Development of the Western US (NBER Working Paper 33019), Joe Long, Carlo Medici, Nancy Qian, and Marco Tabellini examine the impact of this policy...

From the NBER Bulletin on Health

Digital Health Technology and Patient Outcomes Primary figure

Digital Health Technology and Patient Outcomes

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Digital health technologies, such as remote monitoring devices and telemedicine services, have attracted considerable interest due to their potential to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes. These innovations could, however, exacerbate health disparities if adoption rates are lower among underserved communities.

In Equity and Efficiency in Technology Adoption: Evidence from Digital Health (NBER Working Paper 32992), researchers Itzik FadlonParag AgnihotriChristopher Longhurst, and Ming Tai-Seale analyze a remote...

From the NBER Reporter: Research, program, and conference summaries

SNAP Eligibility Enforcement and Program Adoption

SNAP Eligibility Enforcement and Program Adoption

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The US safety net provides a wide variety of supports for low-income families from food assistance like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to wage subsidies like the Earned Income Tax Credit. However, receipt of these benefits among eligible households is not automatic — households must actively apply to each program from which they seek benefits. Enrollment processes often include lengthy procedures associated with demonstrating need or complying with other eligibility criteria during both the initial application and recertification periods.

The benefits of completing these administrative requirements are substantial — for example, the average SNAP participant receives roughly $2,500 per year in benefits. However, recent research on administrative burdens in government programs suggests that…

From the NBER Bulletin on Retirement and Disability

Inflation’s Impact on Social Security Disability Program Beneficiaries figure

Inflation’s Impact on Social Security Disability Program Beneficiaries

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Social Security Disability (SSD) program beneficiaries, like other consumers, have been negatively affected by inflation over the past several years. In a survey from June of 2023, more than half (59 percent) of SSD program beneficiaries reported higher prices for the disability-related goods and services they need to purchase, and more than one-quarter reported reducing food spending to cover disability-related costs, Zachary Morris and Stephanie Rennane found in Examining the Impact of Inflation on the Economic Security of Disability Program Beneficiaries (NBER RDRC Paper NB23-08).

Using new survey data, the researchers found that 82 percent of beneficiaries reported out-of-pocket expenses related to their disability, with average annual spending of $4,412 and median spending...

From the NBER Bulletin on Entrepreneurship

“Third Places” Boost Local Economic Activity figure

“Third Places” Boost Local Economic Activity

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Sociologists have argued that “third places” like cafés, which provide opportunities for individuals to socialize and exchange ideas outside of home and work, improve neighborhood life. But what about the relationship between such places and economic activity? In Third Places and Neighborhood Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Starbucks Cafés (NBER Working Paper 32604), researchers Jinkyong ChoiJorge Guzman, and Mario L. Small use data on US business registrations between 1990 and 2022 from the Startup Cartography Project to examine whether the opening of a Starbucks in a neighborhood with no previous cafés affects local entrepreneurship...

Featured Working Papers

The present value of the social costs of the US corporate sector’s future carbon emissions is 131 percent of total corporate equity value, and 77 percent of firms have carbon burdens exceeding their market capitalizations, as do 13 percent of firms even when indirect emissions are omitted, Lubos PastorRobert F. Stambaugh, and Lucian A. Taylor find. 

Legalization of sports betting significantly reduces savings among financially-constrained households, with risky bets crowding out positive expected value investments and raising credit card debt and overdraft frequency, according to research by Scott R. BakerJustin BalthropMark J. JohnsonJason D. Kotter, and Kevin Pisciotta.

States with laws permitting pharmacists to dispense the opioid overdose-reversing medication naloxone experienced substantially greater dispensing activity, as well as declining mortality rates, after introduction of the naloxone-containing nasal spray Narcan[C1], according to research by Evan D. PeetDavid Powell, and Rosalie Liccardo Pacula.

Drawing on a June 2023 Bundesbank household survey, Sandra Eickmeier and Luba Petersen find that 69 percent of German households report increased trust in the European Central Bank due to its climate initiatives, while about 20 percent express concerns over risks to price stability or independence.

Between 1870 and 1909, high US tariffs reduced labor productivity and the average size of establishments within industries, while raising output prices, gross output, employment, and the number of establishments, according to research by Alexander Klein and Christopher M. Meissner

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