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.
Anjali Adukia, Richard Hornbeck, Daniel Keniston, and Benjamin Lualdi
We examine the social construction of race during the United States’ Reconstruction Era, a critical juncture between slavery and Jim Crow segregation. We show that people with the same detailed skin tone, recorded by the Freedman’s Bank (1865-1874), were more...
Daniel Banki, Uri Simonsohn, Robert Walatka, and George Wu
A re-analysis of Oprea (2024)’s data suggests that that measurement error produced by a confusing experimental design underlies the provocative claim that prospect theory’s risk attitudes reflect mistakes arising from “complexity” rather than underlying preferences. In the reported studies, participants...
Daniela Bresciani Andaluz, Ariel Kalil, Haoxuan Liu, Susan E. Mayer, and Rohen Shah
Math skills in early childhood are correlated with future academic achievement. Caregiver engagement in math learning with their children contributes to the growth of children’s math skills. Providing high-quality math materials for caregivers to use in the home may help...
Supply Chain Shocks and Firm Productivity: The Role of Reporting Quality
Philip G. Berger and Rimmy Tomy
Firms with higher reporting quality prior to a shock experience an 11%–12% increase in total factor productivity (TFP) relative to...
Research Briefs·Feb 4, 2025
Disemployment Effects of Unemployment Insurance: A Meta-Analysis
Jonathan Cohen and Peter Ganong
Previous studies have overestimated the impact of unemployment benefits on unemployment duration by a third due to pervasive publication bias....
Research Briefs·Feb 4, 2025
The Anatomy of the Great Terror: A Quantitative Analysis of the 1937-38 Purges in the Red Army
Alexei Zakharov and Konstantin Sonin
Stalin’s military purge sought to preemptively minimize the risk of a possible coup, and he did so by targeting the...
Podcast Feb 4, 2025
Powering Innovation: How Government Subsidies Accelerate Electric Vehicle Breakthroughs
Tess Vigeland and Hyuk-soo Kwon
The automotive industry is at the forefront of a global shift toward sustainability, with nations setting ambitious electric vehicle (EV)...
Interactive Research Briefs·Jan 31, 2025
Local Economies, Global Perspective
Illuminating Subnational GDP Worldwide
Research Briefs·Jan 30, 2025
Toward an Understanding of the Political Economy of Using Field Experiments in Policymaking
Guglielmo Briscese and John List
When a field experiment shows disappointing results, policymakers update their views but show reduced demand for experiments. The public remains...
Research Briefs·Jan 30, 2025
Painful Bargaining: Evidence from Anesthesia Rollups
Aslihan Asil, Paulo Ramos, Amanda Starc, and Thomas Wollmann
Rollups in the anesthesia industry drive consolidation and significant price increases, particularly in already concentrated markets. Court-ordered divestitures and other...
Research Briefs·Jan 29, 2025
The Claiming of Children on U.S. Tax Returns
Geoffrey Gee, Jacob Goldin, Joseph Gray-Hancuch, Ithai Z. Lurie, and Vedant Vohra
Approximately 95% of children in the United States are claimed on their parents’ tax returns, with lower rates among children...
Research Briefs·Jan 29, 2025
Optimal Income Tax Deductions for Mixed Business and Personal Expenditures
Jacob Goldin, Sebastian Koehne, and Nicholas Lawson
The optimal tax deduction for mixed-purpose expenditures should be proportional to the extent that the expense serves an income-generating function...
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.
Anjali Adukia, Richard Hornbeck, Daniel Keniston, and Benjamin Lualdi
We examine the social construction of race during the United States’ Reconstruction Era, a critical juncture between slavery and Jim Crow segregation. We show that people with the same detailed skin tone, recorded by the Freedman’s Bank (1865-1874), were more...
Daniel Banki, Uri Simonsohn, Robert Walatka, and George Wu
A re-analysis of Oprea (2024)’s data suggests that that measurement error produced by a confusing experimental design underlies the provocative claim that prospect theory’s risk attitudes reflect mistakes arising from “complexity” rather than underlying preferences. In the reported studies, participants...
Daniela Bresciani Andaluz, Ariel Kalil, Haoxuan Liu, Susan E. Mayer, and Rohen Shah
Math skills in early childhood are correlated with future academic achievement. Caregiver engagement in math learning with their children contributes to the growth of children’s math skills. Providing high-quality math materials for caregivers to use in the home may help...
