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 Discovery in Economics+ (EDE+) brings together a diverse group of early undergraduate students to hone their research abilities and technical skills.
Al-Mahdi Ebsim, Chen Lian, Yueran Ma, Pablo Ottonello, and Diego J. Perez
In traditional macro-finance models, firms’ debt contracts impose hard borrowing constraints, which require indiscriminate reductions of borrowing and investment when adverse shocks tighten these limits, giving rise to financial acceleration. We study the macroeconomic implications of “sophisticated borrowing constraints” akin...
Robert D. Metcalfe, Alexandre B. Sollaci, and Chad Syverson
Mergers are commonly evaluated by weighing their expected market power effects against any efficiency gains they create. The larger the market power effect of a proposed merger, the larger must be any efficiencies for it to raise social welfare. We...
Joséphine Gantois, Anouch Missirian, Evelina Linnros, Anna Tompsett, Amir Jina, Gordon C. McCord, and Eyal Frank
Monitoring systems for disaster prevention are costly, and measuring benefits is difficult when monitoring effort is endogenous. We provide the first causal estimate of one such system’s impact using three decades of desert locust monitoring data. We document conflict-induced interruptions...
Captivating and informative videos on the latest insights and trends as well as the tested stock of knowledge in economics from leaders in academia, policy, business, and the media.
A model is developed in which two complementary forms of investment contribute to growth—technology and skill acquisition, and growth takes two forms—TFP and variety growth. The rate of TFP growth depends more heavily on the parameters governing skill accumulation, while variety growth depends, roughly, on the difference between the parameters governing technology and skill accumulation. Conditions for the existence of a BGP are established, and the effects of various parameters are characterized. In an example, subsidies to skill acquisition (technology acquisition) are powerful tools for stimulating TFP growth (variety growth). Investment incentives off the BGP are also explored.
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 Discovery in Economics+ (EDE+) brings together a diverse group of early undergraduate students to hone their research abilities and technical skills.
Al-Mahdi Ebsim, Chen Lian, Yueran Ma, Pablo Ottonello, and Diego J. Perez
In traditional macro-finance models, firms’ debt contracts impose hard borrowing constraints, which require indiscriminate reductions of borrowing and investment when adverse shocks tighten these limits, giving rise to financial acceleration. We study the macroeconomic implications of “sophisticated borrowing constraints” akin...
Robert D. Metcalfe, Alexandre B. Sollaci, and Chad Syverson
Mergers are commonly evaluated by weighing their expected market power effects against any efficiency gains they create. The larger the market power effect of a proposed merger, the larger must be any efficiencies for it to raise social welfare. We...
Joséphine Gantois, Anouch Missirian, Evelina Linnros, Anna Tompsett, Amir Jina, Gordon C. McCord, and Eyal Frank
Monitoring systems for disaster prevention are costly, and measuring benefits is difficult when monitoring effort is endogenous. We provide the first causal estimate of one such system’s impact using three decades of desert locust monitoring data. We document conflict-induced interruptions...
Captivating and informative videos on the latest insights and trends as well as the tested stock of knowledge in economics from leaders in academia, policy, business, and the media.
