Economists have gone into hyperdrive with COVID-19 related research. Just today, an analysis using smartphone location data finds that areas with more Republicans engage in less social distancing than more Democratic areas, ceteris paribus: https://www.nber.org/papers/w26946.pdf

Facebook connections are an effective proxy for disease vectors when looking at how COVID-19 spread from New Rochelle, NY and Lodi, Italy: https://www.nber.org/papers/w26990.pdf

(You can tell they're uncomfortable straying from their lane, but hey, everybody wants to be relevant and help out)

More smartphone data shows that higher-income places with better internet connections have adhered more strongly to social distancing guidelines than those without, highlighting another facet of the digital divide: https://www.nber.org/papers/w26982.pdf

Building off @RobertFaturechi's reporting about Sen. Burr's well-time stock sales, a paper finds that while U.S. Senators are not actually that good at trading in normal times, that changed somewhat after the Jan. 24th COVID-19 briefing: https://www.nber.org/papers/w26975.pdf

Important lesson for statistical analysis of NYC demographics and COVID-19 spread: Residents of poorer/black/brown neighborhoods have been LESS likely to be tested but MORE likely to test positive. https://www.nber.org/papers/w26952.pdf

Most small businesses have less than two months of operating expenses in cash on hand, and other findings from a nationwide survey about the effects of coronavirus and the likelihood of using the PPP: https://www.nber.org/papers/w26989.pdf

And then of course some complicated equations that get you to the same conclusion public health experts have been hammering home for months: Strong mitigation measures imposed early save lives https://www.nber.org/papers/w26984.pdf