Next Monday (June 29) the two-day conference "Inequality & the Future" will begin, hosted by @dondenacentre.bsky.social at UniBocconi (Milan) and co-organized by @ucstonecenter.bsky.social! Join us to discuss today's societal challenges. For remote attendance scan the QR code in the program below👇

Meritocracy is invoked in variable and often contradictory ways. In a new essay, @durlauf.bsky.social distinguishes between retrospective and prospective conceptions of meritocracy, examining how each can produce different tradeoffs and outcomes. Read about it: bit.ly/3QKN3NU

1/ Delighted that this conversation with Philip Kitcher, an intellectual hero, has posted. The podcast focuses on two recent books.

Delighted that this paper with Kristina Butaeva @butaevak.bsky.social and Alexander Shapoval is now public.

Honored to give this lecture.

With graduation season here, students are focused on their job prospects in the age of AI. @durlauf.bsky.social told @hechingerreport.org that AI's effects continue evolving and remain difficult to distinguish from the many economic disruptions of recent years. Read: bit.ly/4ejXK1L

Delighted that this wonderful conversation with Michelle Jackson @mivich.bsky.social has now posted. Much of the conversation involves two fascinating books she has written: The Division of Rationalized Labor and Manifesto for A Dream: Inequality, Constraint, and Radical Reform.

📊 In @thecentersquare.bsky.social, Professor @durlauf.bsky.social of @ucstonecenter.bsky.social says the latest labor numbers point to “stasis” in the job market: unemployment remains steady and jobs are growing, but wage growth is weak and gains are uneven. https://har.rs/4tRfS9b

The interdisciplinary team of lecturers includes Steven Durlauf @durlauf.bsky.social, Béatrice Cherrier, Ariel Kalil @arielkalil.bsky.social, Zachary Parolin @zparolin.bsky.social, Paola Profeta @paolaprofeta.bsky.social, and me. Details for applying here👇 email.harris.uchicago.edu/-temporary-s...

📊 Economist @durlauf.bsky.social of the @ucstonecenter.bsky.social tells @fox32chicago.bsky.social that the latest jobs report beat expectations, but flags warning signs ahead. https://har.rs/4siCtKK

Proud of your thesis or dissertation? Or know someone who should be? The Stone Center Awards are now accepting nominations from both authors and advisors. Winners receive formal recognition and a cash prize. Deadline to apply: May 8 Nominate today: bit.ly/3Oq1l5u

It’s not just about who you know; it’s the networks you belong to. @marioluissmall.bsky.social is pushing us to expand our focus from individuals to the structures that connect them. Listen to this week's episode of The Inequality Podcast with host @durlauf.bsky.social: bit.ly/3PWzw5d

Our Summer School mentors are @guidoalfani.bsky.social, Béatrice Cherrier, @durlauf.bsky.social, Ariel Kalil, @paolaprofeta.bsky.social, @zparolin.bsky.social, and Antonio Villafranca. Don't miss your chance to learn from the best!

Please join us!

Registration is now open for the Inequality Workshop’s spring quarter! We’re hosting four scholars whose research tackles big questions related to families, education, population trends, and immigration. Save your seat today → bit.ly/47pGAx8

Historian Kim Bowes wants us to stop calling ancient Romans "peasants." Talking with @durlauf.bsky.social, she details their use of credit, discretionary consumption, and economic shock planning, revealing a truly sophisticated society. Listen to The Inequality Podcast→ bit.ly/3PWoz3q

Our latest conference, Assessing Meritocracy, brought together scholars from eight countries to examine how meritocratic systems are implemented across contexts. Hosted in partnership with the International Institute of Research in Paris, it sharpened ideas and revealed new research directions.

Panelists: 🏛️ Steven Durlauf (@durlauf.bsky.social) – Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor, @harrispolicy.bsky.social 🏅Joel Moykr – Robert H. Strotz Professor, Northwestern University, 2025 Nobel Laureate 🏅James Robinson – Professor, University of Chicago, 2024 Nobel Laureate

Sam Bowles has spent decades reshaping how economics is taught. In a new feature, Stone Center Director @durlauf.bsky.social highlights five resources that reflect Bowles’s lasting contributions to pedagogy. Among them is the widely acclaimed @coreecon.bsky.social. Read it now→ bit.ly/4st33ly

How much of your life is shaped by the groups you belong to? @durlauf.bsky.social argues that this question is central to understanding inequality. He thinks the biggest policy wins may come from targeting the "bottlenecks" where group selection occurs. Listen to Durlauf on The Pie → bit.ly/4sTrLva

Joseph Stiglitz has a gift for turning classic market arguments on their head. In conversation with @durlauf.bsky.social, he frames the economy as a balancing act, with forces pulling and pushing it towards equilibrium. This tension, shaped by politics, drives inequality. Listen now → bit.ly/4bbnKe0

Coming up this Wednesday! @durlauf.bsky.social of @ucstonecenter.bsky.social will discuss intergenerational mobility in China for two distinct epochs: the last 120 years of the Qing Dynasty and the last 30 years for modern China. Register here ⬇️ events.ticketleap.com/tickets/iiil...

Join us for a special seminar by @durlauf.bsky.social of @ucstonecenter.bsky.social He will describe intergenerational mobility in China for two epochs: the last 120 years of the Qing Dynasty and the last 30 years for modern China. Attend in-person: buff.ly/XSqKGsp Attend online: buff.ly/9WnHeg7

An extremely valuable synthesis of evidence on the effects of Head Start by @chloergibbs.bsky.social. Recommended!

1/ Tommaso Giommoni, Gabriel Loumeau, and Marco Tabellini have written a fascinating paper on the forces influencing the dynamics of the French Revolution, ranging from The Great Fear to the decision to execute Louis XVI.

1/ Delighted that this paper with my coauthors extraordinaire, @gtwodtke.bsky.social, Weiqi Wang, and Kristina Butaeva has been released. I want to highlight two of my coauthors. (Geoff Wodtke is a star sociologist and needs no introduction!)

I am delighted that this great conversation with Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan has posted. Their extraordinary work on intergenerational mobility and immigrants speaks to essential dimensions of the extent of equality of opportunity and of the process of assimilation.

Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan are using economic history to understand immigration. On The Inequality Podcast, they examine patterns of upward mobility and preview new research on the tone of modern political speeches. Listen to their conversation with @durlauf.bsky.social → bit.ly/4txjJsL

1/Universities need to systematically address the findings in the Epstein files. In my opinion, every university in which current or past faculty, administrators, trustees appear in the files, should establish formal bodies to review and assess. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/u...

Tweet of the evening.

The end of this final nuclear arms treaty between the US and Russia augurs a return to a new nuclear arms race that not only involves the new military superpower China, but may well include countries that can no long rely on the American nuclear umbrella, rising military powers, notably India.

We rarely think of economics as scandalous, but maybe we should. Sam Bowles, in conversation with @durlauf.bsky.social & Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, argues that a core assumption in the field impedes moral reasoning about wealth redistribution. Watch "Why Economic Inequalities Endure"→ bit.ly/3Yj4F3B

Last month, the Stone Center convened social scientists, statisticians, and philosophers for our conference, "Integrating Normative Considerations into Inequality Measurement." Together, we examined how ideas of fairness, opportunity, and reward shape the way we measure disparity and discrimination.

I am delighted that this fascinating and enjoyable conversation with Sven Beckert @svenbeckert.bsky.social has posted. Sven is the author of the monumental (in many senses) Capitalism: A Global History, which was published last year.

Catch Steven Durlauf (@durlauf.bsky.social) on @france24.com discussing the United States' rapidly evolving tariff policies and their geopolitical implications. www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/...

As slavery exhibits are removed in Philadelphia, and scholars like Lisa Cook are targeted in ways that threaten independent economic research and policy; good people must be reminded that arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend toward justice on its own—it bends in the direction that we push it.

Bravo @markgsheppard.com for a real public service.

Grateful for the opportunity to discuss the short run and long run harms of Trump's tariff threats over Greenland. video.snapstream.net/Play/9GUds8G...

This action of extortion against NATO allies crosses the Rubicon in terms of US relations with Europe. The threat destabilizes NATO and will cause long run damage to the United States economy. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/u...

This action of extortion against NATO allies crosses the Rubicon in terms of US relations with Europe. The threat destabilizes NATO and will cause long run damage to the United States economy. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/u...

Building your 2026 reading list? 📚 @durlauf.bsky.social shares five books guaranteed to shape your economic thinking → bit.ly/3Lu5XGl

Wealth inequality has persisted for over 10,000 years–but why? Renowned economist Sam Bowles joined the Stone Center to explore its origins, from the ox and plow to the rise of power concentrations and the lasting effects of slavery. Watch the full lecture here → bit.ly/4pqxM0V

1/ Jonathan Levy's books Ages of American Capitalism: A History of the United States and The Real Economy: History and Theory, are fascinating and I recommend them in the strongest terms. Jon challenges modes of thinking by economists, certainly including mine.

1/ Any economist who has accepted a position in the Trump administration should resign over the abuse of power involved in this attack on Jerome Powell. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...

📊 Inequality, Reconsidered was a week-long series of @ucstonecenter.bsky.social events to rethink how we study and address inequality. Led by insights from Samuel Bowles and @durlauf.bsky.social, the series emphasized power, institutions, and lived experience alongside data. https://har.rs/4baRCc2

Meritocracy remains controversial yet increasingly central to policy debates. Evaluating it requires care: we must first define “merit” relative to social objectives, whether prospectively or retrospectively. @durlauf.bsky.social's latest essay offers ways to think about these issues→ bit.ly/3Y283jj

Bravo! As deserved as it gets. Wendy Carlin is a treasure.

What can 13 minutes teach us about inequality? A lot, it turns out. @durlauf.bsky.social and @jadenreports.bsky.social cover wealth, education, and capitalism in a recent interview. Zoe Cobb, Stone Center staffer and youth voice, captures the key insights in a must-read summary → bit.ly/43ZFVke

9 favorite history books 2025. 1. Capitalism: A Global History, Sven Beckert

9 favorite history books 2025. 1. Capitalism: A Global History, Sven Beckert