Publications
The Hamilton Project produces and commissions policy proposals and analyses to promote broad-based economic growth by embracing a significant role for well-designed government policies and public investment.
Papers
A primer on SNAP work requirements
An explainer on work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) summarizes the research on work requirements and their efficacy.
Economic Security & Inequality
Employment & Wages
Social Insurance
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Posts
Work permit applications suggest prior immigration is still pushing up labor supply—for now
Employment & Wages
Immigration
Posts
Higher new Census population estimates will affect the employment report
Employment & Wages
Immigration
Posts
Low-income workers experience—by far—the most earnings and work hours instability
Economic Security & Inequality
Employment & Wages
Explore All Publications
An eviction moratorium without rental assistance hurts smaller landlords, too
An eviction moratorium during the COVID-19 pandemic is critical for the health and economic security of renters—but it is only half the solution. Without renta…
What should a fiscal response to a COVID-19 outbreak look like?
Hamilton Project Director Jay Shambaugh comments on the COVID-19 virus and how economic policies with automatic triggers can alleviate the financial burden of …
Infrastructure investment as an automatic stabilizer
Transportation infrastructure investment during economic downturns often occurs too slowly—and in insufficient quantities—to help stabilize the economy. Andrew…
Nine facts about state and local policy
Policy debates often focus only on major decisions made in Washington, DC. But for many Americans, the decisions made much closer to home have just as large, i…
Local transportation policy and economic opportunity
There is broad agreement about the importance of transportation infrastructure, but disagreement about the goals of transportation policy and the appropriate m…
The historical role of race and policy for regional inequality
Bradley Hardy, Trevon Logan, and John Parman describe the legacy of structural racism and its influence on economic outcomes for people and places today, outli…
The geography of prosperity
Ryan Nunn, Jana Parsons, and Jay Shambaugh investigate the factors that have created concentrated prosperity in the United States while leaving many places beh…
Harnessing the US intergovernmental grant system for place-based assistance in recession and recovery
The $700 billion U.S. intergovernmental grant system is often poorly targeted to areas that are struggling. Tracy Gordon proposes reforms to Medicaid and other…
