FRONTIER RESEARCH, GLOBAL IMPACT.

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Research Briefs·May 7, 2026

International Comparison of Physician Incomes

Physician incomes in the United States, Canada, Sweden, and the Netherlands are concentrated in the top percentiles of the income distribution, though incomes are highest in the United States, mainly reflecting differences in overall income distributions, which suggests that broader...
Podcasts episode·May 5, 2026

Life as a Lab: John List on the Art and Ethics of Field Experiments

Have you taken a Lyft, shopped at Walmart, or used Facebook in the last decade? If so, you’ve likely been a participant in one of John List’s experiments. In this episode of The Pie, List, Professor of Economics and Director...
Research Briefs·Apr 29, 2026

The Rise of Healthcare Jobs

Healthcare is the largest industry by employment in the United States; earnings for healthcare workers have risen nearly twice as fast as those in other industries since 1980 to 2022, including relatively large increases in the middle and upper-middle parts...
Podcasts episode·Apr 28, 2026

Wealth of Institutions: Randall Kroszner on Why Markets Stayed Calm While the Fed Came Under Fire

Earlier this year, former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that political pressure on the Federal Reserve could turn the U.S. into “a banana republic.” And yet long-term interest rates, inflation expectations, and the dollar have shown a remarkably muted reaction...

Latest Frontier Research

BFI Working Paper·May 7, 2026

Carbon Uncertainty and Asset Prices

We find that measurement uncertainty in firms’ carbon intensity commands a positive risk premium, distinct from and alongside a robust premium associated with carbon-intensity levels. Because most emissions are estimated rather than disclosed, our main contribu­tion is to construct an...
BFI Working Paper·May 5, 2026

Retrospective Versus Prospective Meritocracy

This article proposes a way of understanding meritocracy from retrospective versus prospective points of view. Retrospective meritocracy is static or backwards-looking: Merit is based on an individual’s characteristics or past achievements as representative of excellence or as desert for a...
BFI Working Paper·May 5, 2026

Automation, Learning, and Career Dynamics

We study how an automating technology affects career dynamics, human capital, and welfare in an economy where workers acquire skill through the tasks they perform. In a continuous-time general equilibrium model, learning-by-doing is determined jointly with the share of tasks...

Past Events

May 8
Academic Conferences·May 8, 2026, 5:00 PM·Chicago Booth Harper Center, Room C25 5807 S. Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, IL 60637

2026 Undergraduate Spring Panel: Regulating Disruptive Digital Technologies

May 8
Workshops·May 8, 2026, 12:30 PM·Saieh Hall for Economics, Rm 021 , 5757 S. University, Chicago, IL, United States, 60637

Spring 2026 Development Lunch Workshop

by Joshua Dean, Erin M. Kelley, and Eduardo Montero
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Upcoming Events

May 8
Workshops·May 8, 2026, 12:30 PM·Saieh Hall for Economics, Rm 021 , 5757 S. University, Chicago, IL, United States, 60637

Spring 2026 Development Lunch Workshop

Organizers: Joshua Dean, Erin M. Kelley, and Eduardo Montero
May 8
Academic Conferences·May 8, 2026, 5:00 PM·Chicago Booth Harper Center, Room C25 5807 S. Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, IL 60637

2026 Undergraduate Spring Panel: Regulating Disruptive Digital Technologies

May 11
Workshops·May 11, 2026, 12:00 PM·Charles M. Harper Center | Room 3B

Spring 2026 Behavioral Economics Seminar Series

Organizers: Francesca Bastianello and Avner Strulov-Shlain
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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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Our Legacy

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.

Our Team

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