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On September 23, PAA and the Association of Population Centers sponsored its second virtual congressional briefing of 2022, “Assessing COVID Economic Relief: What Worked, What’s Next?” The briefing highlighted examples of cutting-edge research that population scientists are conducting regarding the impact of COVID-19 economic relief policies on American workers and households.

Approximately 200 individuals from a variety of federal agencies, including Capitol Hill, National Institutes of Health, Government Accountability Office, National Academy of Sciences, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, universities, and non-profit organizations nationwide, registered. Dr. Pia Orrenius, Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank-Dallas, moderated. The panelists were Dr. Marianne Bitler, University of California-Davis; Dr. Greg Duncan, University of California-Irvine; and Dr. Kristen Harknett, University of California-San Francisco. View the recording here.

Dr. Bitler discussed her research regarding the effectiveness of safety net programs, such as unemployment insurance and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and their impact on different populations during the pandemic. Dr. Duncan featured findings from a project he co-leads, The Baby’s First Years Study, which has been analyzing how cash transfers affect the brain development of young children. Dr. Harknett presented work she and her colleagues have done on service sector workers, evaluating the effects different workplace policies have on low wage workers in particular.  

During the question-and-answer segment, the speakers were asked to identify unmet federal data needs and answer questions regarding their research, including what is known about the long-term effects of cash transfers on child development and the impact of specific policies on immigrants and workers who hold multiple part-time positions.

View:

• Recording
• Speaker bios
• Slides