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
The Housing Bubble: Is It Back?
November 2016, Lara Merling and Dean Baker
The U.S. and Europe: Different Approaches on Work-Life Balance
Workers in the United States trail other high-income countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of work-life balance. The U.S. tops the list in terms of yearly hours worked and falls significantly behind other
Labor Market Policy Research Report, November 4, 2016
Health Insurance Through the Marketplace: It’s Actually Affordable
With open enrollment for health insurance exchanges for 2017 starting soon, the news has been saturated with articles on exploding rates. However, after accounting for the subsidies individuals are eligible for through the Affordable Care Act, a close loo
Labor Market Policy Research Report, October 28, 2016
The Employment Rate Is Increasing for Women in Other Countries, But Dropping for Women in the U.S.
Japan is not exactly the country that comes to mind as a model of gender equality and high labor force participation for women. In 1995, the OECD estimated women’s employment rate in Japan at 56.5 percent, almost 10 percentage points lower than in the U.S
Labor Market Policy Research Report, October 21, 2016
Are Government Sector Jobs Becoming Less Appealing?
Government jobs are often thought to be highly desirable, with high levels of job security and generous benefits. In fact, research shows that the greater generosity of benefits is offset by lower pay. Adjusting for education and experience, compensation
Labor Market Policy Research Report, September 24 – October 14, 2016
The United States Trails Other Countries in Work-Life Balance
In many narrow economic indicators, such as wealth, income, and housing, the United States ranks near the top of countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). However, when it comes to broader measures focused of well-bein