Tonight at Harris School of Public Policy: Why Economic Inequalities Endure. For decades, Sam Bowles has challenged how we think about economics, democracy, and inequality. Ahead of his talk, hear him compare capitalism and democracy on The Inequality Podcast. Listen → bit.ly/43Qi8mz

Sam Bowles is a dedicated collaborator across the Stone Center network. Between his work with @stoneeconucl.bsky.social, @coreecon.bsky.social, and his own groundbreaking research, he joins us in Chicago to discuss "Why Economic Inequalities Endure," happening tomorrow. RSVP → cvent.me/aWXMPqa

Inequality Reconsidered: A Week with the Stone Center begins today! Missed the registration window for our Nov. 4 lecture with Sam Bowles? Don’t worry, you can still join “Why Economic Inequalities Endure” on Thursday, Nov. 6. Seats are limited, don't wait → cvent.me/aWXMPq

Research trio @durlauf.bsky.social, Andros Kourtellos, and Chih Ming Tan reunited at the Stone Center this past summer to continue their collaborative efforts on refining measures of inequality. Learn more about their joint work and its reach→ stonecenter.uchicago.edu/news-insight...

Steven Durlauf (@durlauf.bsky.social) joins rising voice Jaden Jefferson (@jadenreports.bsky.social) to discuss how wealth inequality influences the U.S. economy through disparities in education, taxation, and opportunity.

Steven Durlauf (@durlauf.bsky.social) speaks to @thehill.com on the Trump Administration’s college compact, emphasizing that debates over diversity should take place within institutions themselves. thehill.com/homenews/edu...

In under two weeks, Inequality Reconsidered: A Week with the Stone Center begins. Join Samuel Bowles & Steven Durlauf at the Harris School of Public Policy on November 4th and 6th to unpack why economic inequalities endure. Reserve your seat → cvent.me/aWXMPq

Join Professor Joe Soss on Friday morning to hear about the legal plunder of the justice system. Soss will discuss the origins, operations, and consequences of revenue shifts from communities to governments and corporations. Join us by registering here → zurl.co/LbUc5

Damon Jones, Associate Director of the Stone Center, joins the Million Bazillion podcast to explain how insurance protects against unexpected financial burdens and why it’s an essential part of the financial system.

It’s not every day we interview one of our own directors on the Podcast, but when we do, it’s worth a listen. @durlauf.bsky.social talks with @nomadj1s.bsky.social about household finance, UBI, editing a special issue of the JEL, and what an individualistic perspective might omit. 🎧→ bit.ly/4qlcFOt

Criminal justice institutions generate billions—but who benefits? This Friday, join Professor Joe Soss to discuss racial capitalism, legal plunder, and political resistance. Register here to join the conversation → forms.gle/bbnp8ZgfBxE7NAJC8

Inequality persists not by accident, but by architecture. Join Samuel Bowles & @durlauf.bsky.social for Inequality Reconsidered: A Week with the Stone Center featuring insightful exchanges on research, policy, and the path forward. Systems won't change themselves. Be a Part of It → cvent.me/aWXMPq

Discussions about student loans are in the news more than ever. This Friday, we’ll hear from an expert who's using administrative credit bureau data to study the effects of loan forgiveness. Register now to be part of the conversation → zurl.co/sZ9VG

Registration for the Autumn 2025 Inequality Workshop is now open → forms.gle/bbnp8ZgfBxE7... We'll see you there!

Measuring inequality of opportunity must account for the context in which choices are made. Using linear Bayesian model averaging & machine-learning methods, researchers show how estimates of opportunity inequality vary across model specifications and EU countries. Read the paper → zurl.co/WD1ej

Parental income and family structure during childhood shape adult income—especially in middle childhood and adolescence. These effects complement one another across key developmental stages. Research by Yoosoon Chang, Steven Durlauf, Bo Hu & Joon Park. https://ow.ly/kZeL50X7ott

Check out @durlauf.bsky.social's fantastic new interview with @fishkin.bsky.social on the Inequality Podcast, hosted by the @ucstonecenter.bsky.social at the University of Chicago.

What if the goal isn’t equal outcomes, but equal access? This week on the podcast, @durlauf.bsky.social and @fishkin.bsky.social discuss opportunity pluralism, meritocracy, and how political economy has shaped American democracy. If you care about inequality, this is a must-listen → zurl.co/JRALG

@durlauf.bsky.social reviews two complementary books on economic history, How the World Became Rich & Slouching Towards Utopia. Both works cogently integrate contingent explanation and historical patterns in tracing the path of global growth. Read his review → bit.ly/42WIenz

Earlier this month, we hosted an authors' conference for the upcoming volume, "Whither Meritocracy?" published by the ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Read the recap and preview what's to come → bit.ly/46VBKro

How do political dynasties impact development? Using election results and nightlight data from Punjab, Pakistan, researchers find that dynasties negatively impact growth, persisting by offering security instead of growth-enhancing goods. Read it now → bit.ly/46GNKMp

Are the new H-1B rules creating the wrong incentives? @durlauf.bsky.social tells @latimes.com how the policy could push growth away from the U.S.

Alexander Monge-Naranjo has been researching the role of credit constraints in shaping educational attainment. He sits down with @durlauf.bsky.social to discuss how credit access matters for recent cohorts, whereas family resources were more determinative for earlier groups. Listen → bit.ly/4nOXPxK

In a new paper, Coleman & Lukina re-examine assortative matching literature using new rank correlation measures. Contrary to previous results, they find that assortative matching actually rose from the 1960s through the 1980s to 2013, rather than flattening out. Read their research→ bit.ly/4mqXDDH

Announcing the 2025-2026 Inequality Workshop schedule! Join us throughout the academic year for dialogue and critical commentary on some of today’s most pressing issues. Want early access? Sign up for our newsletter → bit.ly/4pxC2fC #InequalityResearch #AcademicWorkshops #UChicago

Inter-province income/education inequality in China isn’t new; intra-province inequality might be. @butaevak.bsky.social & Park show that poorer provinces have higher inequality because of higher educational inequality, higher returns to schooling & lower average attainment. Read now→ bit.ly/3Vhf8Lz

"How much of the inequality we observe today can be predicted by inherited circumstances?” This week on the podcast, Steven Durlauf is joined by Francisco Ferreira to explore how inherited inequality unfolds across countries and regions. 🎧 Hear the full conversation bit.ly/45XLHnV

Looking for a part-time job that supports inequality research? The Stone Center is hiring a Student Program Assistant! This is a great fit for students interested in research operations, policy, and communications. Apply now on Handshake or Grad Gargoyle!

Exploring the role of social influences in majority language acquisition and language minorities and demonstrates complex comparative statics exist in such environments, from William A. Brock, Bo Chen, Steven N. Durlauf, and Shlomo Weber https://www.nber.org/papers/w34138

Providing a general framework for understanding how trajectories of family income and family structure affect adult outcomes, from Yoosoon Chang, Steven N. Durlauf, Bo Hu, and Joon Park https://www.nber.org/papers/w34179

Econ 101 usually sticks to perfect models. The CORE project (@coreecon.bsky.social) is trying to change that by tackling climate, inequality, innovation, and the future of work. This week’s podcast guest is reinventing how economics is taught—with free resources. Listen wherever you get podcasts!

Differences in school quality are often blamed for academic achievement gaps between poor and affluent neighborhoods. A new paper uses ML to find that equalizing quality would reduce this gap by <10%, suggesting disparities stem mainly from structural factors. Explore the findings → bit.ly/3VdIbQ1

New from the Stone Center! How do we compare intergenerational mobility in countries undergoing structural economic shifts to those that aren’t? Our affiliates take on this complex question in their latest paper.

Terrific @ucstonecenter.bsky.social Inequality Podcast with the brilliant Smith scholar, @nescio13.bsky.social, on Adam Smith's economic, moral, and political philosophy. Hosted by @durlauf.bsky.social. So glad that Steven, an esteemed economist, is reaching out this way to humanities scholars.

Why do neighborhoods exhibit different intergenerational mobility patterns? Without proper decomposition, answers can diverge. Cholli et al. propose a generalized model that disentangles family selection from place effects—while accounting for sampling error. Explore their findings → bit.ly/3V0v3O3

Marx is best known for his critique of capitalism, but what does his work still offer today in understanding inequality, technology, and ideology? At a recent panel hosted by the Stone Center, we brought together scholars to revisit his legacy. 📖 Dig into the full discussion → bit.ly/3UsbgXG

Now the full episode at The Inequality Podcast @ucstonecenter.bsky.social with @durlauf.bsky.social, who is a very gracious host, and @nescio13.bsky.social mostly on Adam Smith, but also a bit on evidential practices in social science at the end. open.spotify.com/episode/5L2X...

Adam Smith is an economics legend, but what gets left out of modern conversations about this iconic thinker? Philosopher Eric Schliesser (@nescio13.bsky.social) unpacks Smith’s overlooked views on inequality and concentrated political power. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. bit.ly/3YdiCkj

How might rental advertisements reinforce residential segregation? This paper finds that Craigslist ads in mixed-income neighborhoods are significantly more likely to mention security measures, using rhetoric that emphasizes privacy and exclusion. Read the research: bit.ly/40Zko9X

Director Steven Durlauf tells @washtimes.bsky.social that efforts to erase DEI “ignore the deep roots of contemporary group inequalities.” www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/au...

A good memory is great—unless you’re studying intergenerational mobility. How fast can occupational classes forget their social origins? Blume et al. use memory curves from stochastic Markov processes to capture how persistent class advantage or disadvantage can be across generations. bit.ly/40HzGQA

Stone Center Director Steven Durlauf offers an explanation for the reduced economic impact: enacted tariffs are "substantially lower than were threatened." His quote is featured in a new article by @csmonitor.bsky.social.

Our July 2025 Summer School on Socioeconomic Opportunity and Inequality gathered a fantastic group of early-career scholars for a week of collaboration, helping to strengthen the global inequality research community. Thanks to our partner, Yerevan Economic School! Join us next year: bit.ly/44CDUtA

How important are low tax rates when your life and career are rooted in one place? Cristobal Young challenges the idea that the wealthy are fleeing to tax havens in this week’s episode of The Inequality Podcast. 🎧 Listen here: bit.ly/3YdiCkj #TaxFlight #MillionaireTax #InequalityResearch

Today, we say farewell to a founding member of the Stone Center team, our Assistant Director, Gerry! If you’ve connected with us, you’ve felt his humor, heart, and dedication. We’re better for his influence. Wishing him the very best in his next chapter! #ThankYouGerry

💸 Is becoming a millionaire more attainable, or has inflation and asset growth simply moved the goalposts? @newsweek.com explores this question with commentary from Stone Center’s Damon Jones @nomadj1s.bsky.social www.newsweek.com/america-has-...

Meet our Summer Interns! At the Stone Center, we’re proud to nurture the next generation of advocates for inequality solutions. This summer, Austin Siu and Zoe Cobb are gaining hands-on experience. Discover why studying inequality matters to them in the posts below.

High mobility and low income inequality might not reduce learning gaps between rich and poor students: this week's study finds that these gaps persist in Nordic countries, equaling those in other European countries despite egalitarian welfare systems. 📖 Read the Paper Now: bit.ly/3GxgPAT

New episode of The Inequality Podcast just dropped! Caterina Calsamiglia talks with @durlauf.bsky.social about school choice, standardized testing, and the importance of representation in shaping education policy. 🎧 Listen here: bit.ly/3YdiCkj

We are proud to announce our 2025 Thesis and Dissertation awardees! While these scholars examined unique research questions, they were united in their commitment to investigating the social, economic, and political structures that drive persistent inequality. 📣 Read the Announcement: bit.ly/4lSe5Nm