Issue: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated shutdown of economic activity, first in China, then in the U.S. has drawn stark attention to the consequences of long supply chains. For example, disruptions in the production/shipments of protective masks from China and of pharmaceutical feedstocks from India, underscored how disruptions can transmit shocks in one nation to firms and consumers in the U.S.
Objective: This project examined the consequences of longer supply chains and identifies possible risk-reducing strategies. The Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense Center (CBTS) and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) collaborated to examine the potential risks associated with global supply chains on which the U.S. economy depends.
Value Proposition: This project generated new research findings and built a community of economic researchers working on supply chain issues. The results informed the design of policies to ameliorate risks, such as public or private incentives for establishing multiple sources for production-critical materials, regulatory requirements for the maintenance of private inventories designed to reduce the risk of stock-out or supply interruption, or public stockpiles of essential goods.
Principal Investigator
James Poterba, Ph.D., MIT Mitsui professor of economics and National Bureau of Economic Research president
Principal Investigator
Chad Syverson, Ph.D., The University of Chicago Booth School of Business George C. Tiao Distinguished Service Professor of Economics
Principal Investigator
Laura Alfaro, Ph.D., Harvard Business School Warren Alpert Professor of Business Administration