Research

Our work

Explore our research across five interconnected themes — from measuring AI's labor market impact to aging and demographic change to shaping the policy frameworks for a changing economy.

Latest work

2025

Managers as Gatekeepers in the Age of AI

Cassandra Merritt, Jacob Dominski, Christopher Hoy, Yong Suk Lee

Investigating how managers decide between deploying AI systems and hiring human workers, including the role of organizational incentives, risk perception, and task characteristics.

Human–AI Interaction
2025

Advancing AI Capabilities and Evolving Labor Outcomes

Jacob Dominski, Yong Suk Lee

Using the CPS and occupational AI exposure scores from GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet, we find emerging evidence that increased AI exposure is associated with employment declines — suggesting 2025 could be the turning point.

Labor Market Impacts
2025

Do Multimodal Large Language Models Understand Welding?

Grigorii Khvatskii, Yong Suk Lee, Corey Angst, Maria Gibbs, Robert Landers, Nitesh V. Chawla · Information Fusion

Testing the practical capabilities of multimodal large language models in skilled trades, using welding quality assessment as a benchmark for AI understanding of physical work.

Human–AI Interaction
LABOR MARKET IMPACTS

Advancing AI Capabilities and Evolving Labor Outcomes

Using the CPS and occupational AI exposure scores from GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet, we find emerging evidence that increased AI exposure is associate…

2025Read More →
HUMAN–AI INTERACTIONENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

Managers as Gatekeepers in the Age of AI

Investigating how managers decide between deploying AI systems and hiring human workers, including the role of organizational incentives, risk percept…

2025Read More →
HUMAN–AI INTERACTION

Do Multimodal Large Language Models Understand Welding?

Testing the practical capabilities of multimodal large language models in skilled trades, using welding quality assessment as a benchmark for AI under…

2025Read More →
HUMAN–AI INTERACTIONBELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Racial Disparities in Police-Algorithm Interactions: Evidence from Rearrest Predictions

Examining how the deployment of algorithmic rearrest prediction tools in policing interacts with existing racial disparities, with implications for fa…

2025Read More →
LABOR MARKET IMPACTSHUMAN–AI INTERACTIONAGING & DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE

Robots and Labor in Nursing Homes

How do employment, tasks, and productivity change with robot adoption? We study Japanese nursing homes using original facility-level panel data on rob…

2025Read More →
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

University Education Reform and Entrepreneurship Among Alumni

Examining how changes in university curricula and educational approaches affect the entrepreneurial trajectories of graduates.

2025Read More →
BELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

US-China Tech Decoupling Increases Willingness to Share Personal Data in China

Examining how US-China technology decoupling affects Chinese citizens' willingness to share personal data, with implications for privacy and data gove…

2025Read More →
HUMAN–AI INTERACTIONBELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Does Information About AI Regulation Change Manager Evaluation of Ethical Concerns and Intent to Adopt AI?

Exploring how the regulatory environment for AI shapes how managers evaluate and weigh ethical concerns when making deployment decisions.

2024Read More →
BELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Risks and Opportunities of Open-Source Generative AI

A comprehensive assessment of the risks and opportunities presented by open-source generative AI models, with policy recommendations for responsible o…

2024Read More →
BELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Near to Mid-term Risks and Opportunities of Open-Source Generative AI

Arguing for the responsible open sourcing of generative AI models, pushing back against calls for restrictive regulation that may stifle innovation an…

2024Read More →
LABOR MARKET IMPACTS

The Evolving Impact of Robots on Jobs

A comprehensive analysis of how industrial robot adoption has evolved in its effects on employment across different sectors and regions.

2023Read More →
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

In Institutions We Trust? Trust in Government and the Allocation of Entrepreneurial Intention

Analyzing the role of institutional trust in shaping entrepreneurial intentions across different national and cultural contexts.

2023Read More →
BELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Measuring Urban Quality and Change Through the Detection of Physical Attributes of Decay

Using machine learning to identify neighborhood development patterns and physical attributes of decay, assisting urban planners in understanding inequ…

2023Read More →
BELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Optimizing Whose Engagement? Beliefs and Protest Participation of Social Media Users in South Korea

Investigating how social media algorithms shape political beliefs and protest participation among users in South Korea.

2023Read More →
HUMAN–AI INTERACTIONENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

When Does AI Pay Off? AI-Adoption Intensity, Complementary Investments, and R&D Strategy

Analyzing the conditions under which AI adoption generates positive returns for firms, focusing on the interaction between adoption intensity and R&D …

2022Read More →
LABOR MARKET IMPACTSAGING & DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE

Robots and Labor in the Service Sector: Evidence from Nursing Homes

NBER working paper examining the effects of robot adoption on labor outcomes in the service sector, using evidence from nursing home facilities.

2021Read More →
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

Do University Entrepreneurship Programs Promote Entrepreneurship?

Evaluating the causal impact of university entrepreneurship programs on graduates' entrepreneurial activity using novel identification strategies.

2021Read More →
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

Government Guaranteed Small Business Loans and Regional Growth

Investigating the relationship between government-backed lending programs for small businesses and regional economic growth patterns.

2018Read More →
BELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Information Technology in the Property Market

Studying the impact of information technology on property market dynamics and pricing efficiency.

2018Read More →
BELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

International Isolation and Regional Inequality: Evidence from Sanctions on North Korea

Analyzing how international sanctions on North Korea affected regional inequality within the country.

2018Read More →
LABOR MARKET IMPACTS

Modern Management and the Demand for Technical Skill

Examining how modern management practices drive demand for technical skills in the labor market.

2018Read More →
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

The Persistence of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Immigrants

Examining the persistence of entrepreneurial activity among innovative immigrants and how immigration policy shapes long-term innovation outcomes.

2018Read More →
BELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Political Influence and Trade Uncertainty: Evidence from Sanction Threats and Impositions

Studying how political dynamics and sanction threats create trade uncertainty and influence economic outcomes.

2018Read More →
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

Entrepreneurship, Small Businesses, and Economic Growth in Cities

Investigating the relationship between small business formation, local entrepreneurial ecosystems, and urban economic growth. Winner of the Urban Land…

2017Read More →
BELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Organization of Disaster Aid Delivery: Spending Your Donations

Analyzing how disaster aid organizations allocate and spend donations, with implications for the efficiency of humanitarian relief.

2015Read More →
BELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

School Districting and the Origins of Residential Land Price Inequality

Examining how school district boundaries contribute to residential land price inequality and spatial sorting.

2015Read More →
LABOR MARKET IMPACTSAGING & DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE

Staffing Subsidies and the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes

Evaluating how staffing subsidies affect the quality of care delivered in nursing home facilities.

2015Read More →
BELIEFS, POLICY & GOVERNANCE

Exams, Districts, and Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence from South Korea

Studying how examination systems and school district policies affect intergenerational economic mobility in South Korea.

2014Read More →
LABOR MARKET IMPACTSAGING & DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE

Do Medicaid Wage Pass-through Payments Increase Nursing Home Staffing?

Evaluating whether Medicaid wage pass-through payments effectively increase staffing levels in nursing home facilities.

2010Read More →