Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR)
Welcome to SIEPR
Supporting nonpartisan economic policy research. Convening leaders from academia, government and business. Inspiring the next generation of economic experts.
Learn more about SIEPR's mission and the people behind it.
"Evidence matters. And it can shift policy in a positive direction."
Highlights from the 2026 SIEPR Economic Summit
We invite you to explore our 22nd SIEPR Economic Summit, where leading experts delved into some of the most urgent economic issues facing the U.S. and the world. Hear from Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, former Italy prime minister Mario Draghi and our all-star panelists as they discuss AI’s disruption, fallout from the Iran War, the future of higher education, and more.
A new podcast from SIEPR
What if you could walk Stanford’s campus alongside leading minds as they unpack the ideas shaping the economy, business and public policy? Introducing Econ To Go, where Stanford economics meets your everyday life — served with a side of coffee. Check out our newest episode in the video podcast series, with Nobel Prize laureate Alvin Roth!
Cutting through the AI noise
There’s a lot of speculation about how AI will reshape the U.S. economy. And the hype swings from doomsday to utopia. At a recent Policy Forum, the "godmother of AI" and U.S. Senator Mark Kelly joined other policy experts and business leaders for deep discussions into what’s actually happening and what’s coming next.
Read our recap here and watch the highlights.
How to fix California's child care crunch
A SIEPR policy brief outlines the economic cost of California’s broken child care market and sheds light on the public investment needed for a universal child care program. Reforms, the researchers find, would not only fix the market but also generate enough returns to exceed upfront costs.
What draws our scholars and students to economic policy?
Priyanka Parikh became a SIEPR predoc to explore life as a researcher. After fully immersing herself in economic policy research, she realized she wanted to train as a health economist. Learn more about what drives Priyanka and others featured in our Why Econ series.
The US budget math is looking dangerous
Cries over a potential U.S. debt crisis have grown over the years. Now the danger is real, says Jared Bernstein, a Distinguished Policy Fellow at SIEPR. He explains why and breaks down the budget math in this policy brief, co-authored by SIEPR's Adam Shaw and predoctoral fellow Daniel Posthumus.
Recent News
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Sex, drugs & surrogacy: When morality and markets clash
Stanford’s Alvin Roth won the Nobel Prize for improving how markets work. In a new book, he introduces a new way of thinking about society’s most controversial transactions, from sex work to drugs to assisted dying.
May 18, 2026
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Why U.S. test scores are in a ‘generation-long decline’
The New York Times interviews Sean Reardon, a Stanford Graduate School of Education professor and SIEPR senior fellow, on his new research showing declines in student achievement began in 2013, long before the pandemic and after two decades of gains.
May 13, 2026
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U.S. student achievement was falling long before pandemic, study finds
SIEPR Senior Fellow Sean Reardon and research collaborators at Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth identify what they call a “learning recession” before COVID, leading to new insights on both the problematic depth of learning losses and promise of progress.
May 13, 2026
