At Mercatus, ideas go beyond theory—they transform how our scholars think and act. This was certainly true for Christine McDaniel, whose time here profoundly shaped her perspective as an applied economist.
Before her recent departure to join the World Bank, Christine likened her eight years at Mercatus to a refining school: the Mercatus Center's commitment to applied mainline economics sharpened her work in international trade and microeconomic policy. One discovery stood out to her: Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom’s work, introduced to Christine by her mentor, Eileen Norcross.
"Discovering Elinor Ostrom's work on bottom-up solutions was transformative," Christine explained. “Seeing how and why certain solutions stick, and others don’t, has deeply influenced how I approach policy challenges. That's something I'll carry forward in my applied work."
Christine also emphasized the practical training and supportive culture at Mercatus as essential to her professional growth. From daily conversations that sharpened her ideas to editorial support that improved her writing, Mercatus provided an environment for continuous learning. "Mercatus has been a finishing school for me," Christine shared. "I've come a long way thanks to the incredible people here who help each other grow professionally."
Christine's story exemplifies what Mercatus strives to do every day:equip scholars with powerful, real-world ideas that improve public policy and enrich lives.
Jack Salmon reviews the literature produced from the debate over government spending multipliers, concluding they're generally modest and warns policymakers against expecting fiscal stimulus to deliver outsized economic miracles.
David Beckworth is returning to his blogging roots with the launch of his new Substack on macroeconomics.
Vero de Rugy explains why cost-cutting alone won’t fix the budget—but that doesn’t mean wasteful spending should be ignored.
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