PUBLICATIONS

The United States spends a relatively small sum on children, both on a per capita basis and as a share of all spending. In 2019, the federal government spent an estimated $5,595 per child on programs benefiting children under 18,...

The global COVID-19 pandemic created not only a once-a-century public health crisis but also a once-a-century public education crisis. Unfortunately, the United States federal government’s financial assistance to schools to overcome pandemic-induced learning loss is about to expire – despite...

This essay presents the case for a better US business tax regime. First, we provide an overview of the business tax base in the United States and describe how business activity is taxed, with special focus on the 2017 Tax...

Pharmaceutical pricing in the United States is a complicated and opaque process. Confusion over price setting and the method by which new drugs are brought to market can lead to ineffective and even harmful policies that decrease society’s access to...

Social Security is arguably America’s most important government program, as it is the main source of income for most elderly Americans and represents the primary tax paid by most workers as well. Forty years after Congress made its last significant...

The outlook for federal debt represents a significant economic challenge for the United States. Economic developments and policy changes over the past two decades have materially raised the level of current and projected debt, but the primary factors behind the...

The post-pandemic US economy features a strong labor market but also persistent inflation, rising levels of debt, and acute educational challenges. These issues are compounded by ongoing, systemic difficulties: domestic and global, economic and political. This policy volume considers these...

The Aspen Economic Strategy Group’s sixth annual policy volume focuses on building a more resilient US economy. Several major economic and geopolitical disruptions and developments in recent years—including the global COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and growing tensions with...