A faster tool for economic statistics — what economists use when they run the numbers

An R package called fixest now runs economic calculations roughly 10-100x faster than existing tools by using a smarter algorithm for a common statistical problem. This means economists can test more models, run bigger datasets, and iterate faster on the same hardware.

Economic research relies on running thousands of statistical models to test whether a policy worked or a theory holds. Speed matters because it determines what questions a researcher can actually ask — slow tools force you to be selective; fast tools let you be thorough. This package doesn't change what's knowable in principle, but it changes what's knowable in practice by removing the computational tax on exploration. For research teams, it means cheaper computing bills and faster publication cycles. For policy analysis, it means more rigorous testing of whether a program actually worked before spending billions on it.