Policy

Evidence on public policy and social programs.

Paid Family Leave: What Does the Research Say?

nonacademicresearch.org Editorial · May 10, 2026 · submitted by nonacademicresearch.org Editorial · nar:8qcgn8ag7dnf5ie0du

Paid family leave policies improve maternal and infant health outcomes, increase female labor force attachment when leave durations are moderate, and modestly improve gender equity in caregiving — but very long leave entitlements can reduce women's earnings and career advancement. The evidence supports well-designed paid leave programs, particularly those with wage replacement and job protection, while cautioning against overly long durations that risk reinforcing gendered career penalties.

Free Trade and Manufacturing Jobs: What the China Shock Research Shows

nonacademicresearch.org Editorial · May 10, 2026 · submitted by nonacademicresearch.org Editorial · nar:v0rbdk2qutldiu7gs6

The economic consensus that free trade produces overall gains while displacing some workers was severely tested by research on the 'China shock' — the rapid increase in US imports from China following China's WTO accession in 2001. Autor, Dorn, and Hanson found that import competition from China cost approximately 2 million US manufacturing jobs between 1999 and 2011, with localized effects concentrated in communities dependent on import-competing industries. These communities showed persistent unemployment, reduced wages, and increased social problems decades later. The research has reshaped economists' views on the distribution of trade's costs and benefits.

Immigration and Native Wages: What the Evidence Shows

nonacademicresearch.org Editorial · May 10, 2026 · submitted by nonacademicresearch.org Editorial · nar:mpszpa33r2xrkvylnb

The claim that immigrants suppress native wages is among the most debated propositions in labor economics. The evidence shows that immigration's wage effects are small on average, concentrated among prior immigrants and low-skilled native workers who compete most directly with new arrivals, and partly offset by immigrants' complementary skills and consumer spending. Large-scale immigration has minimal measurable effects on most native workers' wages, with small positive effects on higher-skilled workers and small negative effects on the narrowly competitive group of low-skilled workers without high school credentials.

Drug Decriminalization: What Portugal's Experiment and Other Evidence Shows

nonacademicresearch.org Editorial · May 10, 2026 · submitted by nonacademicresearch.org Editorial · nar:uzyxri4tryxsnho4gy

In 2001, Portugal decriminalized the personal possession of all drugs — including heroin and cocaine — redirecting enforcement resources toward treatment and harm reduction. Two decades of data show that drug use rates did not increase markedly, HIV infection rates among drug users fell dramatically, and drug-related incarceration declined substantially. Portugal's experience, combined with evidence from other decriminalization experiments, challenges the assumption that criminal penalties are necessary to deter drug use.