The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) serves as a hub for cutting-edge analysis and research across the entire University of Chicago economics community, uniting researchers from the Booth School of Business, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, the...
Inspired by our namesakes, Nobel Laureates Gary Becker and Milton Friedman, who believed that economics research could help improve the world, BFI works with the Chicago Economics community to turn its evidence-based research into real-world impact.
The Predoctoral Research in Economics Program (PREP) is intended to serve as a bridge between college and graduate school for students interested in empirical economics. The program offers unique research and professional training opportunities at the University of Chicago.
Expanding Diversity in Economics+ (EDE+) brings together a diverse group of early undergraduate students to hone their research abilities and technical skills.
Jens Ludwig, Sendhil Mullainathan, and Ashesh Rambachan
How can we use the novel capacities of large language models (LLMs) in empirical research? And how can we do so while accounting for their limitations, which are themselves only poorly understood?We develop an econometric framework to answer this question...
Eyal Frank, Maximilian Auffhammer, David W. McLaughlin, and Elisheba Spiller
Protecting species’ habitats is the main policy tool employed across the globe to reduce biodiversity losses. These protections are hypothesized to conflict with private landowners’ interests. We study the economic consequences of the most extensive and controversial piece of such...
The prudent reforestation of tropical rainforests depends on alternative land uses, the dynamics of carbon accumulation of forest trees, and the implicit social cost of emissions. In this paper, we discuss and extend recent research by Assunção et al. (2023)...
The latest economic commentary from UChicago's leading scholars, fellows, and special guests. Featuring Research Briefs, Interactive Charts, Videos, Podcasts, and more.
The current inflationary period in the United States reduced worker welfare through real wage declines and the costly actions workers took to offset these losses. At the same time, inflation caused a rise in job vacancies—driven by increased job-to-job transitions—creating...
The U.S. tax and transfer system has become more redistributive in recent decades, not less; this finding holds across multiple ways of measuring and defining income, households, and transfers.
Why do so many students leave college before completing their degree, and how can we help them return? Lesley Turner, Associate Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, discusses results from a mentoring experiment aimed at...
Americans attend church less often than they claim. Recessions can improve our health. Pesticides pose hidden dangers. And perceptions of monetary policy shape our reality. In this special year-end episode of The Pie, we dive into some of the most...
How can we use the novel capacities of large language models (LLMs) in empirical research? And how can we do so while accounting for their limitations, which are themselves only poorly understood?We develop an econometric framework to answer this question...
Protecting species’ habitats is the main policy tool employed across the globe to reduce biodiversity losses. These protections are hypothesized to conflict with private landowners’ interests. We study the economic consequences of the most extensive and controversial piece of such...
The prudent reforestation of tropical rainforests depends on alternative land uses, the dynamics of carbon accumulation of forest trees, and the implicit social cost of emissions. In this paper, we discuss and extend recent research by Assunção et al. (2023)...
The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) serves as a hub for cutting-edge analysis and research across the entire University of Chicago economics community, uniting researchers from the Booth School of Business, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, the...
Inspired by our namesakes, Nobel Laureates Gary Becker and Milton Friedman, who believed that economics research could help improve the world, BFI works with the Chicago Economics community to turn its evidence-based research into real-world impact.