Collaborative Research: Understanding the Incidence of Market Distortions

NSF Award Search · 01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT · $196,083 · view on nsf.gov ↗

Abstract

This award funds a research project that combines extremely rich and detailed data with economic theory to study how the burden of market failures is shared in the economy. Market failures prevent resources, such as labor and capital, from being used in the places where they are most valuable. While it is known that market failures are a feature of all economies and contribute to income differences across countries, the question of which types of households are affected most by these market failures is much less researched. This project makes progress on this gap by developing tools to connect and analyze multiple datasets that provide an extensive set of links in the economy between households and firms, between both households and firms and the government, and between the firms themselves. Understanding which groups benefit and which groups lose out from policies that address such market failures is vital to the design of approaches that maximize the welfare of any nation. The research outcomes could be essential for researchers and decisionmakers in shaping optimal U.S. policies and potentially enhancing the wellbeing of households and businesses. This award funds a research project that develops tools to estimate distortions—markups, markdowns, and taxes that prevents resources being allocated to their best uses—at a highly disaggregated level and trace them to individuals through arbitrary trade, employment, and financial networks. This methodology is applied to adm

Key facts

NSF award ID
2446994
Awardee
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
SAM.gov UEI
E2NYLCDML6V1
PI
David G Atkin
Primary program
01002526DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
All programs
Estimated total
$196,083
Funds obligated
$196,083
Transaction type
Standard Grant
Period
07/01/2025 → 06/30/2028