Microcredit fights poverty by expanding access to credit. Some microfinance institutions (MFIs) focus on maximizing profits, and do so while lending to the poor. Others seek to maximize access for the poor subject to a budget constraint. Regardless, nearly all MFIs face pressure from policymakers, donors, and investors to eliminate their reliance on subsidies. Economic modeling, policy, and pra...

Regulation through information technologies is growing in importance. Policymakers are addressing societal concerns such as privacy, freedom of speech, and intellectual property protection through the design of information technology. While scholars have noted the power of information technologies, there is little analysis of how people are affected or regulated by information technology. This ...

Should people be considered organ donors after their death unless they request not to be, or should they not be considered donors unless they request to be? Because people tend to stay with the default in a variety of domains, policymakers' choice of default has large and often important effects. In the United States, where the organ-donation policy default is "not a donor," about 5,000 people ...

Regulation through `̀ code,’’ i.e. the hardware and software of communication technologies, is growing in importance. Policymakers are addressing societal concerns such as privacy, freedom of speech, and intellectual property protection with code-based solutions. While scholars have noted the role of code, there is little analysis of the various features or characteristics of code that have sign...

Incorporating financial intermediaries, with their ability to generate shocks and frictions, into macroeconomic models has recently gained substantial attention of the profession. In this commentary I ask whether the models we generated are ripe to provide valuable, quantitative advice to policymakers, especially those interested in implementing and conducting macroprudential policy. I concentr...