Why do so many of us avoid talking to strangers? New research suggests it's because we're surprisingly bad at predicting how good those conversations will actually feel. 🎙️ New episode of The Pie: bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/tal...
Becker Friedman Institute for Economics
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The Becker Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago supports inquiry on significant economic and policy questions. Repost/Follow ≠ endorsement. Follow us on socials: https://linktr.ee/bfisocials
How can economics improve health care? Led by @gottliebecon.bsky.social and @profnoto.bsky.social, the BFI Health Economics Initiative brings together UChicago scholars to study the policies, markets, and behaviors that shape health care. bfi.uchicago.edu/initiative/h...
Health Economics Initiative | Becker Friedman Institute
Description The US and countries around the world are spending a substantial and rising share of income on health care. The care that is delivered today and the innovation available tomorrow are drive...
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Go beyond published research. BFI’s Working Paper Series features new economic insights—before they reach journals. bfi.uchicago.edu/working-pape...
BFI Working Papers | Becker Friedman Institute
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Healthcare is now the largest industry by employment in the United States—and healthcare workers’ earnings have risen nearly twice as fast as those in other industries since 1980. Research by @gottliebecon.bsky.social, Kevin Rinz, Neale Mahoney, & Victoria Udalova: bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/the...
The Rise of Healthcare Jobs | Becker Friedman Institute
While the decline in manufacturing employment has received ample attention, the healthcare industry has rather quietly become the nation’s dominant employer. Indeed, the increase in healthcare employm...
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Have you taken a Lyft, shopped at Walmart, or used Facebook in the last decade? You may have been part of a @johnlist.bsky.social experiment. On The Pie, List discusses his new book Experimental Economics: Theory in Practice and what real-world experiments reveal about behavior.
At BFI, it starts with bold ideas—and the 200+ economists who pursue them. From cutting-edge research to global impact, the Chicago tradition continues to shape a more informed world. The greatest discoveries lie ahead. https://ow.ly/jj0H50YS13B
DEADLINE APPROACHING: Submit by May 1 Call for papers: 2026 AI in Social Science Conference 📍 UChicago | Oct 8–9 Join a cross-disciplinary conversation on how AI is reshaping social science—and vice versa. Submit your paper: https://ow.ly/YgVv50YRS7I
Call for Papers: 2026 AI in Social Science Conference | Becker Friedman Institute
How is artificial intelligence (AI) going to change social science and how is social science going to change how AI is used? This cross-disciplinary conference will facilitate dialogue and generate insights into innovative methodologies, novel datasets, and emerging technologies that can reshape our understanding of the world and push the boundaries of knowledge across disciplines Read more...
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BFI at UChicago announces the 2026 Price Theory Summer Camp cohort—40 PhD students from 25 institutions worldwide. A cornerstone of BFI’s Price Theory Initiative, the program brings top young economists to campus for intensive training. bfi.uchicago.edu/news/becker-...
Why did markets stay calm as political pressure on the Fed intensified? In a new episode of The Pie, Randall Kroszner explains why investors still trust the system—and what that says about U.S. institutions. bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/wea...
What causes the wealth of nations? 250 years after Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, BFI is launching #Wealth250 — a yearlong look at the foundation, frontier, and future of economics. Follow along for new research, events, and more. https://ow.ly/NKOo50YOe8f
Happy Earth Day 🌍 From energy access to climate impacts, BFI scholars are researching how environmental challenges shape economies and policy. Explore the latest: https://ow.ly/fkmE50YOclF
Miss out on this week's BFI Weekly Briefing? We've got you covered. Catch up on the latest research, events, and more here: https://ow.ly/FQL750YLcf5
Do cities reduce inequality or reinforce it? New research from Anjali Adukia Sam Asher, Kritarth Jha, Paul Novosad, and Brandon Tan finds India’s cities often replicate caste and religious disparities seen in villages, shaping access to public services. Read more: https://ow.ly/4LFj50YK2Z2
Residential Segregation and Unequal Access to Local Public Services in India: Evidence from 1.5m Neighborhoods | Becker Friedman Institute
Residential segregation of marginalized groups is a well-established driver of persistent inequality in wealthy countries. Segregated communities tend to have worse access to employment networks, public services, and social capital, and face more entrenched stereotypes in the broader population.1 Most existing research, however, focuses on the United States and Europe. This research gap is significant Read more...
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What drives organized crime and how can policy respond? At the BFI-UNAB Organized Crime Conference, scholars and policymakers explored gang dynamics, extortion, recidivism, and citizen security across Latin America and beyond. More: https://ow.ly/EMNY50YK2K9
Who opts into school choice and who actually benefits? In this episode of The Pie, Chris Campos explains why higher-income, higher-achieving families are more likely to apply, while students who stand to gain the most often miss out. Listen: https://ow.ly/eviO50YK0Sr
Voters say they care most about economics. So why do cultural issues dominate politics? New research from Daron Acemoglu, Georgy Egorov, and Konstantin Sonin shows how cultural positions can signal deeper economic agendas. Read more: https://ow.ly/41Pb50YJYyk
Multidimensional Signaling and the Rise of Cultural Politics | Becker Friedman Institute
In 1992, then presidential candidate Bill Clinton’s political strategist, James Carville, famously coined a phrase to keep his candidate on message, which tidily summarizes the long-held view that voters care most about pocketbook issues: “It’s the economy, stupid.” While that assessment still holds, this research suggests that Carville’s maxim could be rephrased as, “It’s the Read more...
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Short on time, not on curiosity? 💡 BFI research briefs break down new economic research into clear, accessible insights. https://bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/research-summaries/
Research Brief Library | Becker Friedman Institute
The latest commentary and analysis from BFI’s leading scholars in shorter, digestible forms.
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Miss out on this week's BFI Weekly Briefing? We've got you covered. 🗞️💡 Catch up on the latest research, news, events, and much more here: https://mailchi.mp/uchicago/bfi-updates-newsletter-2669852?e=63986047e2
How does academic dishonesty shape public institutions? New research by Zhuang Liu, Wenwei Peng, and Shaoda Wang finds plagiarism among graduate students is widespread—and linked to worse performance in public office and negative spillovers. https://ow.ly/9jSH50YBmvT
A Few Bad Apples? Academic Dishonesty, Political Selection, and Institutional Performance in China | Becker Friedman Institute
This work begins with a simple statement with big implications: “Institutions act through people.” It follows that the discretionary behavior of those in power matters, and when those people, be they CEOs, judges, academic leaders, managers, politicians, and others, act dishonestly, condemnation is often swift, though some escape retribution. This is especially true in the Read more...
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🎙️ New episode of The Pie: The War in Iran: Oil, Cyber Warfare, and Alliances Four weeks into the conflict, oil supply is disrupted, cyberattacks are escalating, and there’s no clear exit. ⬇️ bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/the...
📢 Call for Papers: Advances with Field Experiments (AFE) 2026 Join leading researchers using field experiments to answer big economic questions. Submit your abstract by May 29. ⬇️ bfi.uchicago.edu/events/event...
It’s here! UChicago Giving Day is live—now through April 1 at 12pm. Support the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics as we celebrate 250 years of The Wealth of Nations and invest in the future of economics. ⬇️ givetoday.uchicago.edu/schools/TheU...
What drives effort inside organizations? New research by Leonardo Bursztyn, Ewan Rawcliffe, and Hans-Joachim Voth shows how tiered, expanding status incentives can repeatedly motivate higher performance—drawing on WWII fighter pilots. https://ow.ly/e50q50YBgZy
Never Enough: Dynamic Status Incentives in Organizations | Becker Friedman Institute
Many firms face a fundamental challenge regarding employee performance: How to effectively and efficiently incentivize workers. Financial rewards are effective but costly, and their motivating power can diminish over time. In this paper, the authors ask whether status-based rewards such as medals, awards, and titles can fill this gap by tapping into people’s innate desire Read more...
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Miss out on this week's BFI Weekly Briefing? Catch up on the latest research, events, and more here: https://ow.ly/2KWC50YzWkF
UChicago students: secured an unpaid or underpaid summer internship in the public or nonprofit sector? BFI is accepting proposals for Summer 2026 funding. Apply by March 29. ⬇️ Link: https://ow.ly/RQN050YzqnF
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Short on time, not on curiosity? Explore BFI’s research briefs—clear, concise insights from leading economists on today’s biggest questions. Read more: https://ow.ly/iOFK50YyTaP
Research Brief Library | Becker Friedman Institute
The latest commentary and analysis from BFI’s leading scholars in shorter, digestible forms.
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Looking to stay ahead of the latest economic research? 📑 Explore BFI’s Working Paper Series—featuring new insights from leading economists on today’s most pressing questions. Browse the latest: https://ow.ly/la3s50YyT3E
BFI Working Papers | BFI
Sharing research in progress—and refining it through rigorous discussion and debate—is a hallmark of scholarship at the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics.
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How cooperative is the global trading system—really? 🌍 New research finds countries value transfers to foreigners nearly as much as their own citizens—about 75% as much on average.
✨️ We're excited to officially announce the 2026 AI+Science Summer School! Engage with the emerging field of AI+Science and spur new research directions focused on AI-enabled scientific discovery June 22nd - 26th Applications are due by Wednesday, April 22nd (Application 🔗 in reply ⬇️)
AI is reshaping the labor market—but what comes next? On April 22, join Erik Hurst and Sanjog Misra for a conversation on automation, jobs, and how today’s changes compare to past technological shifts.