The unifying goal of the Academy's Commission on Reimagining Our Economy (CORE) was to rethink the principles, metrics, narratives, and policies that shape the nation’s political economy. Instead of focusing on how the economy is doing, the Commission sought to elevate the human stakes and illuminate how Americans are doing. The Commission produced recommendations, a photojournal, and listening sessions, and a new measurement - the CORE Score - to explore the economic wellbeing of Americans.
The CORE Score, released in 2023, provides a county-level nationwide sense of how Americans experience economic security and opportunity, health, and political efficacy. In June 2025, the CORE Score website and infrastructure will move to Yale's Institution for Social and Policy Studies, overseen by Jacob Hacker, the director of ISPS’s American Political Economy eXchange (APEX), a member of the Academy, and a member of the Commission and its working group that developed the CORE Score.
“We are thrilled the CORE Score will have a permanent home at Yale,” said Laurie L. Patton, president of the academy. “We appreciate the university’s investment in improving our ability to analyze, explore, and — ultimately — better understand economic and societal shifts across the United States. While there are numerous indicators of how the economy is doing, the CORE Score provides much-needed insight into how Americans are doing. Yale’s Institution for Social and Policy Studies has the experience and expertise to maintain and share meaningful information with the public and policymakers."
The Academy has shared the CORE Score with the White House, the Federal Reserve, and other government agencies. Since its launch, the CORE Score has been a public resource for all who are interested in the data and details of American economic wellbeing.
“Although the current economy has for years shown signs of strength — such as low unemployment and solid growth — many people still experience deep unease,” Hacker said. “Much of this worry stems from a broader feeling that our society is undergoing significant shifts and that our democratic institutions are not functioning as they should.”
As a member of the commission, Hacker led efforts to develop the CORE Score’s indicators measuring the degree to which Americans participate in their democracy and how well they are represented by their elected representatives in Congress. Other indicators measure an individual’s ability to meet economic needs and endure periods of instability, health coverage and life expectancy, and the possibility of creating a better life through economic opportunities.
Hacker views the new metrics as a better way to understand how inequality shapes political outcomes in the country. “While economic expansion plays a crucial role in shaping a more promising future, it’s equally essential to understand who reaps the rewards of that growth and whose quality of life is truly advancing,” Hacker said.
Patton characterized the development of the CORE Score at the Academy and its move to Yale as “a great example of how intellectual and institutional partnership makes us all stronger.”