Data-driven policy.
No ideology.

We provide the quantitative models, historical context, and primary source data required to evaluate public policy proposals. Real numbers. Concrete assumptions. Clear trade-offs.

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The Framework

Policy debates are often dominated by rhetoric rather than arithmetic. The Institute of Policy exists to bridge the gap between academic economic research and legislative reality. We build open tools to model the impacts of taxation, healthcare funding, and climate interventions.

15+ Core Policy Areas
10 Interactive Models
CBO Baseline Aligned

Latest Policy Briefs

Economics

The Deficit Trajectory

Evaluating the long-term sustainability of the national debt under current CBO projections.

Housing

Zoning and Affordability

How local land-use regulations impact the median price-to-income ratio in major metros.

Healthcare

ACA Subsidy Cliffs

Modeling the impact of expiring enhanced premium tax credits on coverage rates.

The Cost of Inaction

Delaying reforms to mandatory spending programs and the tax code compounds the required magnitude of future adjustments. Our Debt-to-GDP Forecaster allows you to project the geometric growth of the national debt under various deficit and growth assumptions.

The math is unforgiving: if the interest rate on the debt exceeds the economic growth rate, primary surpluses are required just to stabilize the debt ratio.

Quantitative Tools

Interact with the models that shape our research. Every calculator states its assumptions clearly and functions securely in your browser.

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Tax Estimator

Calculate marginal vs effective rates under current law.
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Carbon Tax Modeler

Estimate the direct consumer impact of carbon pricing on gasoline and electricity.
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Housing Affordability Index

Check if a market is structurally affordable based on median income versus home prices.
View All 10 Calculators

Methodology

We rely on primary sources: the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), and peer-reviewed economic literature. We do not engage in "dynamic scoring" miracles or assume away political constraints.

  • Transparent Assumptions: Default values in our tools match current federal baselines.
  • No JS Required: Core content and manual fallback formulas are always accessible.
  • Static Reliability: No complex frameworks, just fast, cacheable HTML.
IndicatorSourceValue
CPI-UBLS+3.2%
UnemploymentBLS3.9%
Debt/GDPCBO99%
Fed FundsFRB5.25%

Featured Topic: Trade & Industrial Policy

The consensus around free trade has fractured. Understanding the incidence of tariffs is critical as industrial policy returns to the forefront.

A tariff is functionally a consumption tax on imported goods. While it may protect specific domestic industries, the cost is borne almost entirely by domestic consumers and downstream businesses through higher input prices.

Read the Trade Brief

Key Insights

  • The 2018-2019 tariffs resulted in near 100% pass-through to U.S. buyers.
  • Retaliatory tariffs disproportionately impacted U.S. agricultural exports.
  • Industrial policy (CHIPS Act) prioritizes resilience over cost-efficiency.

Primary Sources Matter

We do not aggregate talking points. Our underlying data feeds are derived directly from federal ledgers and peer-reviewed econometric analysis.

  • BLS: Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) and Employment Situation.
  • CBO: Budget and Economic Outlook (10-Year Baseline).
  • BEA: National Income and Product Accounts (GDP).

Research Hubs

Economics & Fiscal Healthcare Climate & Energy Housing Education Trade & Tariffs Taxation Labor & Workforce Immigration Defense & Security Criminal Justice Infrastructure Technology Policy Pensions & Social Security Foreign Policy

Evidence over ideology.

Start exploring our data-driven policy briefs.

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Common Fallacies in Policy Debate

We actively identify and correct recurring mathematical and logical errors in public discourse.

  • The Static Revenue Fallacy: Assuming tax rate changes have zero behavioral impact on the underlying tax base.
  • The Sunk Cost Fallacy in Procurement: Continuing to fund obsolete defense platforms because billions have already been spent.
  • The Zero-Sum Trade Fallacy: Viewing bilateral trade deficits as a direct transfer of wealth rather than an exchange of goods for capital.

Open Data & Models

Transparency requires verifiable math. All of our interactive models are open-source and run entirely in your browser without tracking or telemetry.

Our baseline assumptions are hard-coded directly into the calculators, allowing you to instantly compare the delta between political proposals and current statutory law.

Access the Models