Question A: Research on the nature and impact of bank runs has made it possible to limit substantially the wider economic damage from financial crises.

Question B: Reforms of financial regulation since 2008 (and macroprudential policies in some countries) will not substantially reduce the probability of financial crises.

Question A: In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, the level of Florida’s GDP in five years will be substantially lower than it otherwise would.

Question B: The prospect of further costly extreme weather events means that there is a substantial chance that some private property insurance markets will no longer exist in ten years in states such as Florida.

Question C: Without large government subsidies, mandated flood insurance requirements would substantially reduce losses from subsequent natural disasters by encouraging economic activity to migrate from the most flood-prone areas.

Question A: The administration’s loan relief plan will not have a substantial impact on inflation in either direction.

Question B: A longer-term impact of the administration’s loan relief plan is likely to be substantially higher tuition fees at some universities.

Question C: A longer-term impact of the administration’s loan relief plan is likely to be measurably higher student debt burdens in anticipation of future forgiveness.

Question A: A price cap imposed by the G7/EU countries on purchases of Russian oil and oil-related products (and which applies to all importers of Russian oil using Western trade infrastructure, shipping, and insurance) would be an effective measure to reduce the flow of revenues to Russia.

Question B: The oil price cap imposed by the G7/EU countries will not have a substantial effect on the world oil price (such as the Brent crude benchmark).

Question A: The current $7,500 tax credit for purchasing electric vehicles is regressive.

Question B: To encourage greater take-up of electric vehicles, public expenditure on infrastructure to support them (such as charging stations) is likely to be more cost-effective than providing equivalent amounts as tax credits/purchase rebates for buyers.

Question A: Laws restricting access to abortion are likely to have a negative impact on women's educational attainment, labor market participation, and earnings, particularly those in households of lower socio-economic status.

Question B: States that ban abortion are likely to suffer significant economic losses.

Question A: Increased unionization of the American workforce would give a noticeable boost to the earnings of current workers who become eligible to be members.

Question B: Increased unionization of the American workforce would give a noticeable boost to wages for the median household.

Question C: Increased unionization of the American workforce would have a net positive effect on employment.

Question A: It would serve the US economy well to make it unlawful for companies with revenues over $1 billion to offer goods or services for sale at an “unconscionably excessive price” during an exceptional market shock.

Question B: It would serve the US economy well if companies making quarterly SEC filings were obliged to include a tabulation of all price changes of goods or services sold, together with the associated cost changes.

Stablecoins that are not fully backed by either central bank reserves or government securities with minimal price volatility are inherently vulnerable to runs.

High tariffs imposed by the European Union on imports of Russian natural gas would be an effective measure to reduce the flow of revenues to Russia while limiting disruption to supplies to Europe.

Question A: A windfall tax on the profits of large oil companies – with the revenue rebated to households – would provide an efficient means to protect the average US household from rising energy costs.

Question B: Temporary suspension of state and federal gas taxes would lead to a meaningful and immediate reduction in consumer prices at the pump.

Question A: The fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine will be stagflationary in that it will noticeably reduce global growth and raise global inflation over the next year.

Question B: The economic and financial sanctions already implemented will lead to a deep recession in Russia.

Question C: Targeting the Russian economy through a total ban on oil and gas imports carries a high risk of recession in European economies.

Question D: Weaponizing dollar finance is likely to lead to a significant shift away from the dollar as the dominant international currency.

Question A: High volatility in the prices of crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum largely reflects movements in investor sentiment rather than news about potential sources of fundamental value (such as possible applications, or use in illicit transactions).

Question B: Given existing regulations, as crypto assets grow in value and become more connected to the rest of the financial system, the fluctuations in their valuations pose a serious risk to financial stability in advanced economies.

Question A: A permanent version of the 2021 expansion of the child tax credit would reduce child poverty substantially.

Question B: The costs of increasing resources for low-income families via the expanded child tax credit would be substantially offset over the longer term by the fiscal benefits of improving life outcomes for children no longer growing up in poverty.

Question C: Parental labor supply would be unlikely to fall significantly following reintroduction of the expanded child tax credit.

Question A: Firms’ incentives to reduce costs by sourcing inputs and products abroad have caused many American industries to become more vulnerable to supply chain disruptions.

Question B: Private firms have inadequate incentives to make investments to reduce the risk that disruptions in the supply of imports will cause shortages and raise domestic prices.

Question C: Global supply chain disruptions are the main driver of elevated US inflation over the past year.

Question A: A significant factor behind today’s higher US inflation is dominant corporations in uncompetitive markets taking advantage of their market power to raise prices in order to increase their profit margins.

Question B: Antitrust interventions could successfully reduce US inflation over the next 12 months.

Question C: Price controls as deployed in the 1970s could successfully reduce US inflation over the next 12 months.

Question A: Even without renewed Covid-19 restrictions, uncertainty about the health threat from the Omicron variant is likely to deliver a significant hit to economic activity from now through the first half of 2022.

Question B: If world vaccine supply continues to be limited, global social welfare would rise by more if those vaccines were made widely available across Africa (with support for effective delivery) rather than accelerating booster vaccinations in rich countries.

Question C: Imposing travel bans on countries where new Covid-19 variants are discovered will make it less likely that countries will reveal new variants to the rest of the world.

Question A: The supply bottlenecks that are currently contributing to rising prices can be reasonably expected to abate without causing inflation over the longer term to be above the Fed’s target.

Question B: The current combination of US fiscal and monetary policy poses a serious risk of prolonged higher inflation.

Question A: Efforts to achieve the goal of reaching net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 will be a major drag on global economic growth.

Question B: Voluntary national targets are unlikely to be an effective mechanism for achieving sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Question C: Agreement on a significant global price floor for all carbon emissions would be an effective step towards achieving sharp reductions in emissions.

Question A: The introduction of natural experiments to economic analysis of the labor market and related areas has led to a more precise understanding of cause and effect.

Question B: The ‘credibility revolution’ in empirical economics has improved our understanding of a number of public policy issues, including education, immigration and the minimum wage.

Question C: In pursuit of credible research designs, researchers often seek good answers instead of good questions.

Question A: A mandate for public companies to provide climate-related disclosures (such as their greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint) would provide financially material information that enables investors to make better decisions.

Question B: A mandate for public companies to provide climate-related disclosures would induce them to reduce their climate impact significantly.

Mandating staff vaccinations and/or regular testing at big employers would promote a faster and stronger economic recovery.

Question A: The use of non-compete clauses in US employment contracts reduces workers' mobility and wages by more than is justified by the protection of employers' intellectual property and trade secrets.

Question B: Occupational licensing reduces mobility and wages for workers in many sectors where they could safely deliver services that consumers would prefer to those offered by licensed workers.

Question A: Industry consolidation and weaker competition in the United States meaningfully constrain innovation and wage growth.

Question B: Americans pay too much for broadband, cable television, and telecommunications services, in part because of a lack of adequate competition.

Question A: The introduction of even small trade frictions between neighboring countries can result in significant economic damage, particularly to smaller exporting firms.

Question B: A national economic boom based on natural resources is likely to harm other sectors of the economy, particularly manufacturing firms.

Question A: A global minimum corporate tax rate would limit the benefits to companies of shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions without biasing where they invest.

Question B: A stable international tax system in which the major advanced economies collect a minimum rate on corporate income is achievable.

Question C: A global corporate tax system that is based on the location of final consumers would be more efficient than one based on the location of corporate headquarters and production facilities.

The current combination of US fiscal and monetary policy poses a serious risk of prolonged higher inflation.

Question A: The $300 supplement to weekly unemployment benefits available from now through September 6 constitutes a major disincentive to work for lower-wage workers.

Question B: The $300 supplement to weekly unemployment benefits available from now through September 6 is likely to lead to re-employment wages for currently unemployed workers that are higher by an economically meaningful amount.

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Question A: Reliable Covid-19 vaccines will reach developing countries more quickly if the rich countries pay the pharmaceutical companies at prevailing prices to manufacture and distribute the vaccines (or to license production and support licensees), rather than waiving patent protection.

Question B: The benefits to the US, Canada, Europe, Japan and other rich countries of paying for 12 billion doses of Covid vaccines at prevailing prices and providing them for free to the rest of the world exceed the costs that the rich countries would incur.

Question A: The Bank for International Settlements defines a central bank digital currency as follows: ‘In simple terms, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) would be a digital banknote. It could be used by individuals to pay businesses, shops or each other (a 'retail CBDC'), or between financial institutions to settle trades in financial markets (a ‘wholesale CBDC').’

For developed countries, a central bank digital currency that is available to the public at large would offer social benefits that exceed the associated costs or risks.

Question B: Central banks that do not introduce their own digital money risk losing the ability to conduct effective monetary policy.

Question C: The introduction of a central bank digital currency is unlikely to have major effects on the economy.

Question A: In an economy open to capital flows, monetary policy can only be effective with a floating exchange rate.

Question B: For emerging and developing economies open to the world capital market, a flexible exchange rate confers little advantage over a pegged exchange rate in terms of economic stability.

Question C: The key feature making the US a more natural optimum currency area than the euro area is higher labor mobility.

Question A: Removing intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines would substantially improve availability of the vaccines in developing countries.

Question B: Removing intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines would have a negative impact on vaccine development efforts for future variants of SARS-CoV-2 or for the next pandemic.

Question C: Without an international agreement that facilitates vaccine trade, countries’ incentives to limit exports of vaccines and/or key production inputs are likely to prolong the adverse effects of the pandemic in advanced countries.

Question A: Policies that aim to reduce obesity by increasing incentives for physical activity would improve social welfare more than policies that increase the financial costs of consuming calories.

Question B: A ban on advertising junk foods (those that are high in sugar, salt, and fat) would be an effective policy to reduce child obesity.

Sound policy would involve increasing significantly the currently near-zero price of emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Question A: Bans on the short selling of financial securities, such as stocks and government bonds, would lead to prices that are further, on average, from their fundamental values.

Question B: Requiring investors to disclose short positions in a stock at the equivalent threshold as they are required to do for long positions would improve the accuracy of stock prices.

Question A: Until mass vaccination is achieved, any additional government spending going directly to households should focus on keeping low-income individuals and families safe and healthy rather than on boosting current economic activity.

Question B: If the goal is to boost current economic activity, targeting checks at households making less than $75,000 per year would be more cost-effective than providing checks to higher income households as well.

Question A: The current US federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. States can choose whether to have a higher minimum - and many do.

A federal minimum wage of $15 per hour would lower employment for low-wage workers in many states.

Question B: A federal minimum wage that is pegged to state and/or local conditions such as the cost of living would be preferable to the current arrangements that give states a role in setting the policy.

Question A: The UK economy is likely to be at least several percentage points smaller in 2030 than it would have been if the country had remained in the European Union.

Question B: The aggregate economy of the 27 countries still in the EU is likely to be at least several percentage points smaller in 2030 than if the UK had not left.

Requiring Facebook to divest WhatsApp and Instagram is likely to make society better off.

Question A: Our understanding of labor productivity has been much enhanced by accounting for monetary and promotion-based incentives within firms and related selection effects.

Question B: Large salaries for senior business executives are less a reflection of an individual’s current contribution to a firm’s overall performance than a ‘prize’ for those who put in the effort to achieve one of the top positions.

Question A: Having the government issue additional debt to pay off all current outstanding student loans would be net regressive.

Question B: Having the government issue enough additional debt to pay off student loans up to a threshold, for borrowers whose income is below a certain level, could be progressive.

Question C: Extension of the suspension of payments on student loans after the end of the year would support the recovery more effectively than devoting equivalent resources to general income-based transfer payments.

Question A: Google's dominance of the market for internet search arose mainly from a combination of economies of scale and a quality algorithm.

Question B: In light of Google’s dominance, its current operating practices could have a substantial negative effect on social welfare in the long run.

Question C: The nature of the market dominance of technology giants in the digital economy warrants either the imposition of some kind of regulation or a fundamental change in antitrust policy.

The practical application of auction theory to the licensing of rights to use public assets like radiospectrum and other natural resources has generated substantially higher government revenues and better allocative efficiency worldwide than would have happened under previous arrangements.

Question A: Restoring the top individual federal income tax rate to 39.6% for incomes over $400,000 (from the current 37%) and taxing the capital gains and dividends of taxpayers with income over $1 million at that top rate (instead of the current preferential rate of 20%), with no other associated changes in taxes or spending, would be unlikely to hurt economic growth noticeably.

Question B: Restoring the top tax rate, removing the preferential rate on capital gains and dividends, and raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, with no other associated changes in taxes or spending, would be likely to lead to a meaningful sustained reduction in fiscal deficits.

Question A: The US economy would be substantially stronger today if the state and local ‘stay-at-home’ orders had been more uniform and lasted longer in the first half of the year.

Question B: The economy will receive a substantial boost as soon as K-12 schools can be safely opened in person nationwide.

The Fed’s revised strategy to focus on employment shortfalls and a more flexible interpretation of the inflation target will make little practical difference to monetary policy outcomes over the next decade.

Question A: Employment growth is currently constrained more by firms' lack of interest in hiring than people’s willingness to work at prevailing wages.

Question B: Reducing supplemental levels of unemployment benefits so that no workers receive more than a 100% replacement rate would be a more effective way to balance incentives and income support than simply stopping the supplement at the end of this month.

Question C: A well-designed unemployment insurance system would tie federal contributions to states on the basis of each state’s economic and public health conditions.

Question A: Even if it is temporary, the ban on visas for skilled workers, including researchers, will weaken US leadership in STEM and R&D.

Question B: Significantly fewer top foreign students will be attracted to US universities as a result of increased restrictions on visas for skilled workers.

Question C: If increased restrictions on visas for skilled workers are made permanent, a noticeable share of research activities by US and foreign companies will move abroad.

Question A: Given the social and regulatory pressures to keep prices down for drugs and vaccines to treat Covid-19, the financial incentives for pharmaceutical companies to invest in such products are below the value of the investment to society.

Question B: Government commitments to pay developers and manufacturers above average costs for an effective vaccine or drug treatments for Covid-19 would accelerate production.

Question C: Given the positive externalities from vaccination, an effective Covid-19 vaccine should be mandatory for every US resident (except those with health exceptions, such as infants and people with compromised immunity) with the cost covered by the federal government.

Question A: Political conflict plays a key role in shaping economic decisions, policies and outcomes.

Question B: The US has a smaller social welfare system than other rich countries in part because it is more heterogeneous by race and ethnicity.

Question A: Clearing the market for surgical face masks using prices is detrimental to the public good.

Question B: Laws to prevent high prices for essential goods in short supply in a crisis would raise social welfare.

Question C: Governments should buy essential medical supplies at what would have been the market price and redistribute according to need rather than ability to pay.

Question A: Assuming that additional federal spending were to be structured as in the CARES Act, a substantial further spending program now will ultimately be less costly than a smaller program because it will better help to avoid long-term economic damage and promote a stronger recovery.

Question B: Having a fiscal rule that increases social spending on programs like unemployment insurance and SNAP based on the conditions of the economy would be an improvement on the discretionary way in which these programs are currently operated.

Question A: Economic damage from the virus and lockdowns will ultimately fall disproportionately hard on low- and middle-income countries.

Question B: A temporary standstill on sovereign debt payments by low- and middle-income countries to all official and private creditors to give those countries space to cover the immediate costs of the crisis would benefit advanced economies.

Question C: Export restrictions on food and medical supplies, and other protectionist measures, are likely to cost lives and slow economic recovery in all countries.

Question A: Current institutional arrangements mean that small firms will be able to renegotiate with creditors and landlords to avoid bankruptcy during the lockdown.

Question B: A program that allows small businesses to skip rent and utilities during the lockdown, but repay them slowly over time afterwards, would be a net benefit to the economy.

Question A: The balance of federal and local government support to address the economic impact of the crisis has thus far been tilted too much towards supporting firms rather than individuals.

Question B: Government provision of financial support to firms to keep workers on payroll for the duration of the lockdown will make the recovery faster than if the only recourse for workers to replace income were unemployment insurance.

Question A: With the economy in lockdown, low-income workers who are above the poverty line will suffer a relatively bigger hit to their incomes than those further up the distribution (even accounting for all government support schemes).