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Research Briefs

Research Briefs·Nov 4, 2026

Gains from Trade in Gun Policy: A Compensation-Based Benchmark

Brad Shapiro, Sara Drango, and Sarah Moshary
Paying prospective first-time handgun buyers to choose a long gun or no gun at all could avert up to 220 homicides a year, at a net cost of $5.5 to $5.9 million per life saved, well below the $13 million...
Research Briefs·Oct 28, 2026

Capital-Skill Complementarity Beyond Firm Boundaries

Gert Bijnens, Anders Humlum, and Stijn Vanormelingen
New machinery raises demand for workers with STEM degrees, though not at the firms purchasing the machinery, but instead at the outside suppliers that install, integrate, and service the machines.
Research Briefs·Oct 27, 2026

Crime in Covid Times

Jens Ludwig
Between 2019 and 2021, a nationwide increase in gun homicides pushed the U.S. murder rate up by a third, before it fell almost as quickly. This COVID-era swing has been hard to explain because it defies the canonical economic model...

BFI Data Studio

BFI Data Studio·Aug 19, 2026

Sticky Wage Norms and the Real Wage Cost of Unexpected Inflation

Erik Hurst, Christina Patterson,  Nela Richardson, and Ye Liv Wang
Payroll records covering roughly one in seven US workers show that during the recent inflationary period, most firms kept annual raises around 3%, causing real wages to fall behind rising prices and, for many workers, never fully recover.
BFI Data Studio·Jul 21, 2026

The Impact of Pay Period Reporting on Improper Redeterminations for Medicaid: Problems and Implications for Implementation

Peter Ganong, Hannah Garden-Monheit, Koren Gila, Gnora Mahs, Pascal Noel, and Dan Meuse
View the Interactive Brief
BFI Data Studio·Jun 17, 2026

Carbon Prices, Forest Conservation and Reforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Juliano J. Assunção, Lars Peter Hansen, Todd Munson, and José A. Scheinkman
With modest transfers per ton of net CO₂, Brazil would find it optimal to choose policies that produce substantial capture of greenhouse gasses in the next 30 years, suggesting that the management of tropical forests could play an important role...

Podcasts

Podcasts episode·Oct 27, 2026

Do Age Verification Laws Work? Evidence from Adult Websites

Tess Vigeland and Matthew Brown
Since 2023, 25 states have passed laws requiring adult websites to verify visitors’ ages. Meanwhile, total time spent on these sites has fallen by only about 10%. In this episode, UChicago economist Matthew Brown discusses new research that uses browsing...
Podcasts episode·Oct 13, 2026

The Everywhere Millionaire: Who’s Really Rich in America

Tess Vigeland and Eric Zwick
Roughly 3 million Americans own private businesses and have a net worth of at least $5 million. Together they hold more than $50 trillion, about 13 times the wealth of the entire Forbes 400. In this episode, Chicago Booth economist...
Podcasts episode·Sep 29, 2026

Why Your Raise Didn’t Keep Up with Inflation

Tess Vigeland and Erik Hurst
By 2024, inflation was falling and unemployment was low, yet consumer confidence had sunk to levels last seen during the Great Recession. In this episode, Erik Hurst of Chicago Booth and his co-author Christina Patterson draw on payroll records for...

Initiative Insights

Initiative Insight·Apr 14, 2026

Digging Deeper Into The Human Side of Human Capital: Virginia Minni on Shaping Productivity Inside Firms

David Fettig and Sydney Turner
Virginia Minni studies employees and managers within firms, with a focus on corporate culture, meaning at work, and leadership. Though often labeled “soft” because they are difficult to define and measure, her research shows these factors play a critical—and often...
Initiative Insight·Aug 18, 2025

Reframing the Safety Net: Manasi Deshpande on the Unseen Impacts of Disability Policy

Sydney Turner
Economic theories often frame safety net debates in terms of work incentives, but Manasi Deshpande’s research reveals a more complex reality. Using linked administrative data, she shows how programs like Supplemental Security Income affect not just employment, but crime, mental...
Initiative Insight·Jul 31, 2025

What Two Years of Predoctoral Research Taught One Aspiring Economist

Maia Rabenold and Sydney Turner
Through the BFI Predoctoral Research in Economics Program program, Jialing Zhang tackled real-world economic challenges using machine learning and spatial data, helping build tools for GDP estimation in data-scarce regions. Zhang discusses how her journey through economics, mentorship, and discovery...

Videos

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COMMUNICATIONS TEAM

Ava Gomez

Marketing and Digital Media Specialist, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics

Eric Hernandez

Senior Officer of Digital Media and Data Visualization, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics

Abby Hiller

Senior Manager of Research Translation and Impact, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics

Maia Rabenold

Senior Multimedia Specialist, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics

Sydney Turner

Multimedia Coordinator, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics