[2] Stokey has published significant research in the areas of economic growth and development, as well as papers on economic history ("A Quantitative Model of the British Industrial Revolution: 1780–1850," 2001)[4] and optimal control ("Dynamic Programming with Homogeneous Functions," 1998, co-authored with Fernando Alvarez).
She co-authored with Robert Lucas, Jr. and Edward Prescott a book on Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics that is widely used by research economists and graduate students.
Stokey has also written articles that explain the "wait and see model", which describes investment decisions that firms who face a one-time tax policy will endure.
Stokey has written critically about how the United Nations allocates funds for international economic development and humanitarian aid.
[8] Her recent work include "Specific Technical Change, Trade Dynamics, and the Evolution of Skill Premia" and "Monetary Shocks in an Economy with Circulating Capital.