Working Paper Series Crosses 30,000 Mark.

The NBER working paper series reached a milestone in May with the distribution of the 30,000th paper. The series was launched in 1973 by labor economist Robert Michael to disseminate research prior to journal publication and to facilitate distribution of data appendices and related material. The first working paper was Education, Information, and Efficiency by Finis Welch.

The series began on a modest scale, a reflection of the then-small number of NBER affiliates, but quickly expanded to encompass a broad range of NBER research. There were 41 working papers in the first year, and it took 12 years to reach paper number 1000. Originally, working papers were printed and had bright yellow covers. Packets of papers were mailed occasionally to libraries, leading economics departments, and research institutes. As the number of NBER researchers expanded, the volume of working papers rose too. Eventually, a shift to digital distribution became essential for accommodating the expanding number of studies.

In 2020, when many economists ratcheted up their research output to address the host of new questions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a record 1,713...