Total Factor Productivity? Willingness To Pay? Why The Face? Most of these and more now all together on Becker Friedman Institute for Economics' BFI Blackboard! bfi.uchicago.edu/bfi-blackboa...

An economic 'who done it' with a graphic reveal popping in pink! The FT featured recent work from Chad Syverson, Ali Hortacsu, and co-authors trying to answer "Why Is Manufacturing Productivity Growth So Low?" bfi.uchicago.edu/wp-content/u...

Do you have kids? Might college be a part of their future? As someone who tends to overthink and underact on parenting decisions, this write-up (and the underlying research) really hit home. money.com/saving-for-c...

I got to work quite closely with @doctorswithoutborders.org in Port-au-Prince when overseeing the J/P HRO hospitals. In addition to patching up a whole lot of people up from all of the dangers and tragedies that unfolded over those years . . .

A great reminder of why we need more rigorous evidence in public policy! Special shout out to our Emanuele Colonnelli and his findings that corruption is also internally self-defeating and does not actual succeed in greasing the wheels. voxdev.org/topic/mythbu...

In the hope that sharing this here isn't entirely self-defeating, check out this potential tool for overcoming our collective action problem of excessive social media use . . . brought to you by our own Leonardo Bursztyn. www.wsj.com/tech/persona...

HUGE congrats to Philippe Aghion who shared the Nobel Prize in Economics this morning! Philippe and his work with fellow laureate Peter Howitt on "sustained growth through creative destruction” have been instrumental for the Growth Academy co-hosted by @beckerfriedman.bsky.social & the World Bank

I had the opportunity to sit down with Nobel laureate Roger Myerson recently explore some of his ideas like these (our interview will be coming out soon, but in the meantime I wanted to share with you this):

HUGE congratulations to Joel Mokyr who shared the Nobel Prize in economics this morning! We at Becker Friedman Institute for Economics hosted him just last fall along with Nobel laureates James Robinson and James Heckman as well as Deirdre McCloskey.

I've already got my copy and am excited to be kicking off this conversation. If you're in Chicago on Oct 29, please join us on campus!

I realize #Chicago is in the news quite a bit these days, but in case it might be for reasons other than this one, I want to make sure you know we're building the global hub for #Quantum #Innovation! #SiliconValleyByTheSweetWaterSeaShore news.uchicago.edu/story/ground...

We're all struggling to feel our way through the swamp of AI slop that is flooding the internet. Check out the latest from Alex Imas and Brian Jabarian testing AI detection tools bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/art... -- spoiler: some solid reasons to check out www.pangram.com if you haven't already.

The 2010 #earthquake in #Haiti, by some estimates among the largest natural disasters in history, left nearly a million-and-a-half survivors homeless and surrounded by the rubble.

The vicious downward spiral in #Haiti of #instability to #economicStagnation to #violence to #economicIsolation is heart wrenching as I watch what my friends are subjected to.

It was quite an honor and a ride to sit down with Jim for this conversation! Take a listen or have a watch and let me know your thoughts.

📢 We're Hiring: Senior Director, Global Communications at University of Chicago Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) I'm on the look out for an exceptional leader to take forward our global communications strategy! #hiring #communications #economics #leadership #UChicago #jobs

As we're discussing the disparity in educational outcomes around the world today in the Human Capability Initiative, measurement is paramount.

If you've not see it yet, check out these conversations I'm hosting on economics at #UChicago!

Having a great time back in #SaudiArabia speaking at the Human Capability Initiative emphasizing the need for more collaborations between innovators, implementers, and researchers to advance both evidence-based policy and policy-based evidence. #HCI2025 #BeyondReadiness

In case you missed the launch of Anthropic's new Economic Index, here's a great summary from Axios highlighting the primary takeaways: www.axios.com/2025/02/10/a...

I'm very excited about this initiative and in particular the contributions of @beckerfriedman.bsky.social scholars especially Anders Humlum, as well as Michael Kremer @devinnovationlab.bsky.social and John List @johnlist.bsky.social. More to come! www.anthropic.com/economic-index

I work on using research, specifically the scientific method, to improve policy in general and programs in poor counties specifically. So until the last few weeks, most of my engagements with USAID involved me critiquing their work so to get better results for people living in poverty.

Listen to Presidents of both our political parties stretching back to JFK remind us why #USAID embodies the best of America as you watch the work in action around the world. vimeo.com/1052680025?s...

I've personally spent a bit of time with Elon Musk many years back. Far from impressive or bright, I was struck by how pitiably immature, insecure and incurious he came across.

One danger of uninformed action & centralized authority on this scale is that even allegedly unintended steps cost unimaginable numbers of human lives. Even the emergency aid that they didn't mean to stop can't restart bc no one's left with authority to restart it. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/h...

It appears that usaid.gov has been shut down. I've heard from multiple friends in the US who are afraid to talk about what is happening as they've seen colleagues fired already for speaking up or sharing their thoughts.

Adam Green made salient that the university has been speaking to those of less power recently, but soon, very soon, the university will be speaking to an entity with more power, and how the university responds will go a long way in modeling the courage necessary for a genuine culture of free inquiry

The original members of the faculty committee that drafted The Chicago Principles gathered by the University of Chicago Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression to share how they came together a decade back, their experiences since, and what they missed the first time around.

Masked protesters greeted us in the wintery sleet with soggy flyers. Once in our seats, President Paul Alivisatos' opening sentence, "There is a crisis in free inquiry..." was punctuated with a few poignant boos as crisp dry flyers rained down and a few audience members stood in unison.

Hey #econsky we're launching "Local Economies, Global Perspective" - interactive, annual measures of GDP at the 1, 0.5, and 0.25 degree level! We're making all data and documentation available TODAY! bfidatastudio.org/project/loca...

Ruby Bridges held an overflowing Rockefeller Chapel in absolute silence as she relived for us, through her then-six-year-old eyes, her experience integrating her New Orleans elementary school in 1960.

It has been more than twenty years since I started working in Haiti. I first stepped foot in the country during the period between when then-President had exited the country and the government had fallen but before the peacekeeping mission from the UN had arrived.

I know the Econ job market has been a particularly difficult one, so I wanted to get this out there as soon as possible! I'm in the process of building out the newest branch office of the Chicago Federal Statistical Research Data Center here at UChicago. job-boards.greenhouse.io/universityof...

Applications for the 2025 EDE+ Summer Institute close January 29th! Don't miss your chance to apply, and register for tomorrow's information session at chicagobooth.edu/ede #EconSky

Other highlights from the archives this week include a research brief entitled Does Entry Remedy Collusion? Evidence From the Generic Prescription Drug Cartel bfi.uchicago.edu/insight/rese...

What I’d really recommend though is taking a listen to Slate Money’s interview with Harold Pollack. slate.com/podcasts/sla...

Out in the media this week our economists continued to rack up the mentions.

We have three deadlines quickly approaching.

UChicago economists dropped several new working papers this week.

Our latest episode of The Pie, Matt Notowidigdo reflects on Five Years Later: How COVID-19 Reshaped Our Economy and Lives. bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/fiv...

Another quick summary of BFI’s weekly Newsletter! mailchi.mp/uchicago/bfi...

I'm deeply concerned for all of the lives of our brothers and sisters around the world that will be placed in needless jeopardy and potentially even lost because of this stop work order. www.devex.com/news/exclusi...

We're hiring a new postdoc to support BFI China and work with Profs Shaoda Wang and Chang-Tai Hsieh! Helps us spread the word. www.linkedin.com/posts/becker...

I hope this helps! Remember you can subscribe to the weekly newsletter here. bfi.uchicago.edu/subscribe/

We again have some great callbacks to the archives. If you haven’t seen it yet, please take a moment to learn about Optimal Urban Transportation Policy: Evidence from Chicago.

Taking a look at recent media coverage, our latest Nobel laureate, James Robinson, spoke in Shanghai as part of the Greater China Conference to Bloomberg about the role of institutions and innovation in the growth trajectories of the US, Russia, China, & others www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/...

A big shout out to the authors of the research paper Climate Capitalists including Niels Gormsen and Kilian Huber for winning Northwestern’s 2024 Moskowitz Prize which recognizes research with a potential global impact on responsible finance. www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/news/blog/20...

If you’re interested in Innovating for Social Equity: Fintech for Inclusion, come join us Thursday night in downtown Chicago. rustandy.fillout.com/t/nnygNV3F2u...

Shifting to UChicago programming, please help spread the word that the deadline for applying to our Expanding Diversity in Economics (EDE+) Summer Institute is rapidly approaching on January 29! www.chicagobooth.edu/expanding-di...

Quick round up from the most recent of BFI’s weekly Newsletter! mailchi.mp/uchicago/bfi...