Conference: Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA)

The Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) is a semi-annual academic conference and journal that pairs rigorous research with real-time policy analysis to address the most urgent economic challenges of the day. The main activity of this project will be six BPEA conferences over three years. At each of the six conferences (two each year), five or six papers will be presented and discussed, for a total of around 36 papers over the award period.

The final versions of the papers along with discussion comments and summaries of the conference discussions will be published in a volume. Potential paper topics include the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects and the policy responses with a richer empirical evaluation; Federal Reserve’s new monetary policy framework, particularly in light of the higher inflationary environment; US debt sustainability; the impact of infrastructure spending; climate change; and more.

Furthermore, the conference is webcast, and ancillary educational and promotional materials including policy summaries and podcasts will be produced for each conference, which are aimed at a more general audience. All BPEA content produced under this award is will be available free of charge on the Brookings website to anyone within or outside of the economics community who wishes to learn or teach about economic theories or implications of specific economic policies.

BPEA’s goal is to ensure both policymakers and the public have access to the best scientific analyses on emerging topics and questions of economic consequence. This increases the broader impact of economics research. The PI team meets with an advisory council before each conference to solicit their ideas for future paper topics, potential authors and discussants, and general issues of interest.

These discussions, together with the PIs’ own interactions with the economics profession and policy leaders, form the foundation for each conference program. Moreover, suggestions for future papers and contributors are also solicited from conference participants through a post-conference survey, as well as proposals submitted through an ongoing web-based Call for Papers.

Before officially commissioning a paper, editors often reach out to prominent researchers for feedback on the timeliness of the topic, gaps in the existing research, new data and evidence to be examined, potential discussants, and the approximate amount of work required to produce a high-quality paper for conference planning. This approach ensures BPEA papers’ ability to advance the knowledge in economics and inform policymaking.

The discussants further act as referees providing feedback on early drafts of the paper, in addition to commenting on the conference version. All this input is curated by the editors and authors into the published version of the paper. The BPEA conference is a distinguished convening platform not only for the authors to receive constructive feedback on their research, but also for leading experts in the field to exchange opinions and insights on important economic issues.

Conference participants include prominent researchers and policymakers from academia and policymaking institutions such as the Federal Reserve, Department of the Treasury, President’s Council of Economic Advisers, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Congressional Budget Office. Reporters from top-tier media outlets are also invited to observe the discussions.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.