Lara is a senior research fellow at CEPR. She has previously worked at Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center and as an advisor for the International Trade Union Confederation, which represents over 200 million workers worldwide. Her past projects include co-founding and managing Economic Questions, a pluralist economics blog where she was both an editor and contributor.
Lara is a dual citizen of the US and Romania, holds a BA in mathematics from Bard College and an MS in economic policy and theory from the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, and is now finishing her PhD dissertation at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE Bucuresti). Lara’s research interests include issues around sovereign debt, industrial policy, sustainable development, and policies that can support a just transition to a net-zero economy. Her work frequently engages with the devastating social and economic effects of austerity policies and the logical fallacies that underpin these policies. Her work has been featured by media outlets such as Reuters, BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera, The Intercept, openDemocracy, Vox, and The Hill.
All from Lara Merling
Does an Aging Population Really Decrease Labor Productivity?
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently released two papers assessing the impact of an aging population on productivity growth, one looks at Europe, the other one at Japan. Their argument is simple: an aging population also means an overall older a
What the Late 90s Should Have Taught Us: Inflation Does Not Necessarily Accelerate When Unemployment Is Low
The Federal Reserve announced after their December meeting that “in view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation” it will raise interest rates to ¾ of a percentage point, anticipating further hikes throughout 2017. The statement rel
Higher Profits for Companies Does Not Translate Into Higher Investment
Since there are many more wage earners than people with substantial stock holdings in the division of corporate income between wages and profits, most people stand directly to gain from a smaller profit share. Nonetheless, there is an argument for a highe
Labor Market Policy Research Report, December 16, 2016
The following reports on labor market policy were recently released: The Center for Law and Social Policy Juggling Time: Young Workers and Scheduling Practices in the Los Angeles County Service Sector CLASP, UCLA Labor CenterDemosThe Parent Trap: The Econ
The Looming Threat of Automation: The Data Show A Different Story
Low Interest Rates Help Households Cope With Debt
Federal Reserve interest rate policy is aimed at targeting inflation and unemployment. The impact of interest rates on consumer borrowing and spending is an important channel for this policy since the rates financial institutions charge consumers for loan
Labor Market Policy Research Report, December 2, 2016
Manufacturing Jobs in the Midwest: An Overview
As a prelude to CEPR’s upcoming Blue-Collar Jobs Tracker, this post provides an overview of manufacturing jobs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania from 1990 until the present. In all these states the amount of manufacturing j
Labor Market Policy Research Report, November 25, 2016
The Case Against Higher Interest Rates
In the summer of 1996, the Los Angeles Times was warning its readers about “the shadow of rising inflation” [1] looming over U.S. financial markets “like the mammoth alien spacecrafts of Independence Day,” the blockbuster movie of the time. The article su