Latest Insights

Research Briefs·Apr 17, 2025

Economic Shocks and Healthcare Capital Investments

Recessions restrain IT investments while expansion policy indirectly stimulates them. These effects occur in a symmetrical manner. For example, in the healthcare industry, economic downturns restrain hospitals’ investments while hospitals exposed to a Medicaid expansion purchase more IT.
Podcasts episode·Apr 15, 2025

War Economies: How Ukraine and Russia Are Adapting in Year Three

More than three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war continues to reshape not only geopolitical alliances but also the economies of both countries. In this episode of The Pie, host Tess Vigeland is joined by Konstantin Sonin,...
Research Briefs·Apr 9, 2025

Why Has Regional Income Convergence in the U.S. Declined?

Income gaps between states have stopped narrowing at the same time that rising housing costs—linked to increased zoning restrictions—have reshaped who can afford to live in high-wage places.
Research Briefs·Apr 2, 2025

The Social Construction of Race during Reconstruction

During the United States’ Reconstruction Era (1865-77), people with the same physical skin tone were more likely racialized as White or Mulatto if they were wealthier or literate. This historical finding underscores the fluidity of socially constructed racial classifications and...

Latest Frontier Research

BFI Working Paper·Apr 15, 2025

Can Pollution Markets Work in Developing Countries? Experimental Evidence from India

Market-based environmental regulations are seldom used in low-income countries, where pollution is highest but state capacity is often low. We collaborated with the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) to design and experimentally evaluate the world’s first particulate-matter emissions market, which...
BFI Working Paper·Apr 15, 2025

Large Language Models, Small Labor Market Effects

We examine the labor market effects of AI chatbots using two large-scale adoption surveys (late 2023 and 2024) covering 11 exposed occupations (25,000 workers, 7,000 workplaces), linked to matched employer-employee data in Denmark. AI chatbots are now widespread—most employers encourage...
BFI Working Paper·Apr 14, 2025

Paths to the Periphery

My research suggests that world inequality is explained by the incidence of extractive and inclusive institutions. But why do some countries have extractive institutions? I distinguish between two main reasons; first, power relations; second, the “normative order.” Normative orders provide...

Past Events

Apr 18
Workshops·Apr 18, 2025, 12:30 PM·Saieh Hall for Economics, Rm 021 , 5757 S. University, Chicago, IL, United States, 60637

Development Lunch Workshop – Spring 2025

by Fiona Burlig, Joshua Dean, and Erin M. Kelly
Apr 15
Event·Apr 15, 2025, 5:00 PM·David Rubenstein Forum | University A-B, 2nd Floor

BFI Public Event – AI, the Economy, and Public Policy

Apr 14
Workshops·Apr 14, 2025, 12:00 PM·Charles M. Harper Center | Room C03

Spring 2025 Behavioral Economics Seminar Series

by Leonardo Bursztyn and Alex Imas
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Upcoming Events

Apr 21
Workshops·Apr 21, 2025, 12:00 PM·Charles M. Harper Center | Room C03

Spring 2025 Behavioral Economics Seminar Series

Organizers: Leonardo Bursztyn and Alex Imas
Apr 25
Academic Conferences·Apr 25, 2025, 9:00 AM·David Rubenstein Forum, Room 601

2025 Conference on Rational Inattention

Organizers: Doron Ravid and Benjamin Hébert
Apr 25
Academic Conferences·Apr 25, 2025, 9:00 AM·Saieh Hall 112

2025 Micro and Macro Foundations of Labor Markets Conference

Organizers: Erik Hurst, Patrick Kehoe, Magne Mogstad, Simon Mongey, and Elena Pastorino
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About BFI

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About the Becker Friedman Institute

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...
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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.

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University of Chicago faculty members and other accomplished economists set the goals and direction of the Institute.
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