The Brookings Institution

Congrats to Brookings Senior Fellow Xavier de Souza Briggs on being selected by The American Academy of Political and Social Science as a 2025 fellow. The AAPSS selects a small group of scholars and public intellectuals as fellows each year, recognizing their contributions to social science, public policy, and public discourse. Read more at the link below.

In a new episode of The Brookings Institution’s The Current podcast, taped live with an audience, Andre M. Perry joins David Wessel for a powerful conversation about Perry’s new book, Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close It. Perry and Wessel discuss the motivation behind the book and its key themes, such as how true power in America is tied to economic influence, ownership, and community longevity. In #BlackPowerScorecard, Perry specifically quantifies how much power Black Americans really have and calculates how that translates into the longevity of Black communities.    “When you have enough of the stuff that will enable you to live life, it means that you generally have the education you need, the housing you need, the income you need,” Perry tells Wessel.  📺 Watch the episode: https://lnkd.in/eCjt6Duz     🎧 Listen to the full episode of The Current wherever you get your podcasts.  #TheCurrent #BlackPowerScorecard #EconomicEquity #RacialEquity #EconomicPolicy

The Trump administration has highlighted at least two objectives for tariffs on pharmaceuticals: securing U.S. drug supply chains by onshoring drug production and creating U.S. manufacturing jobs. Understanding the impact of tariffs on pharmaceuticals is important because of the role prescription drugs play in the lives of Americans—61% of American adults and 20% of children fill at least one prescription each year through retail or mail pharmacies. Many also get drugs administered in hospitals or receive physician-administered drugs in an outpatient setting, for conditions like cancer or autoimmune diseases. In recent research, Marta Wosińska examines how pharmaceutical tariffs might raise drug prices or lead to drug shortages, and offers a set of considerations for the Trump administration. https://lnkd.in/g-5678-S

Just a few months into office, the Trump administration has put in place a restrictive immigration policy while pursuing aggressive deportations. But these anti-immigrant actions come just as new U.S. Census Bureau data show that the rise of immigration over the past few years, including both legal and undocumented immigrants, bolstered population growth across the nation and, in particular, large metro areas.  In an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau data, The Brookings Institution’s William H. Frey finds that that recent immigration increase drove the population rebound of almost all major metro areas after sharp slowdowns and declines during the pandemic—suggesting these areas’ future growth will hinge on continued immigration gains. Frey highlights several key trends from the U.S. Census Bureau data, including:  1️⃣ As a group, the nation’s 55 major metro areas shifted from a historic population decline in the peak pandemic year of 2020-21 to a gain of 2.3 million residents in 2023-24, with immigration from abroad accounting for almost all of that increase. 2️⃣ Only one of these 55 metro areas lost population in 2023-24, compared to 20 in 2020-21. Over this period, metro area New York rose from having the greatest population decline to the greatest gain. 3️⃣ International migration dominated growth in most major metro areas. Among the 54 metro areas that grew in 2023-24, immigration accounted for all of the growth in 21 and half or more of the growth in another 24. 4️⃣ Domestic migration patterns eased between the early 2020s and 2023-24. Out-migration from the metro areas that lost the most population slowed down, as did in-migration to the metro areas that gained the most population. 5️⃣ Cities and core counties within major metro areas saw demographic rebounds. Among 37 select core counties, 32 shifted from negative to positive growth from 2020-21 to 2023-24, with immigration contributing most to recent gains. Moving beyond the current discourse over deportations, it is going to be necessary simply from a “numbers” standpoint to implement a comprehensive system of immigration that will enable the nation and especially its large metro areas to sustain a future of economic and demographic growth, Frey writes. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e7uCfV2M 

Trying to wrap your head around Trump's reciprocal tariffs? See what former Deputy United States Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi, Peterson Institute for International Economics Senior Fellow Mary E. Lovely, and former Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs Kelly Ann Shaw said about the president's trade and tariff policy at our event last week in this recap: https://lnkd.in/eDvunRfF

🎧 In this special crossover episode with Russian Roulette’s sister podcast, The Eurofile, CSIS experts welcome Tom Wright, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution and former Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the U.S. National Security Council, to discuss his recent article in Foreign Affairs outlining a U.S. strategy for Russia-Ukraine negotiations. Listen in: https://cs.is/3DX62yC

The United States had one of the strongest and fastest economic recoveries from COVID-19 among developed countries, yet the American public continued to perceive the state of the U.S. economy as poor. Carol Graham, Aaron Klein, and Dylan Parikh explore the possibilities for this divergence in new research. https://lnkd.in/enmvwbQh

The U.S. judiciary has a long-established role in checking executive power, tracing its authority back to common law traditions and Marbury v. Madison. However, the Trump administration presents an unprecedented challenge by systematically enacting policies that conflict with existing statutes. On this episode of Democracy in Question, host Katie Dunn Tenpas and Senior Fellow Benjamin Wittes explore consequential pending court cases along with the statutory questions and constitutional considerations they raise. 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/e2W5Xvis

Sun Belt cities such as Dallas and Phoenix that once offered affordable housing are starting to resemble high-priced coastal markets like New York and Los Angeles. Edward Glaeser and Joseph Gyourko examine why in new research from this week's Brookings Papers on Economic Activity.

The shift away from the five-day office work week and the fact that American cities are experiencing the worst housing crisis of the post-World War Two era creates a renewed opportunity and an important mandate to convert underused offices into residential properties, particularly in hotter markets. In a new report, The Brookings Institution researchers and their co-authors examine how office to residential conversions are operating in six metros (Houston; Los Angeles; Pittsburgh; St. Louis; Stamford, Conn.; and Winston-Salem, N.C.). The authors highlight how different market conditions and policy environments influence conversion success, benefiting local tax bases and revitalizing office districts. But while office to residential conversions offer many benefits, local leaders are experiencing barriers to successfully implement the innovative policy, including cost gaps and complex approval processes, while subsidies for affordable housing in conversions remain underdeveloped. To address these issues, Cara Eckholm, Tracy Hadden Loh, Jonathan Meyers, and Steven Paynter recommend that leaders in each city use tools for their own specific solution that connects motivations to feasibility to outcomes through office to residential conversions. For example:    State and local governments can:  1️⃣ Ease the conversion process through zoning and regulatory reforms  2️⃣ Invest public funds via tax credits, subsidies, and downtown infrastructure improvements    The federal government’s role is currently limited to historic tax credits and low-income housing tax credits but could be expanded by:  1️⃣ U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development providing project-based vouchers for conversions 2️⃣ U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Congress restructuring tax incentives 3️⃣ U.S. Department of Transportation streamlining loan programs   Read more: https://lnkd.in/eF5z6Swt