The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) at The University of Chicago is pleased to announce the 2026 Price Theory Summer Camp cohort, consisting of 40 PhD students in economics from 25 institutions around the world.
More information on the 2026 cohort is available here.
A cornerstone of BFI’s Price Theory Initiative, the Price Theory Summer Camp was created by Professors Kevin Murphy, the George J. Stigler Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the Booth School of Business, and Steve Levitt, the William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics. Its aim is to introduce PhD students from outside of The University of Chicago to price theory, which emphasizes the application of basic economic tools to problems.
“The breadth and quality of this year’s applicant pool was truly remarkable,” said Erik Hurst, the Roman Family Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Senior Advisor to the Becker Friedman Institute. “We are delighted to welcome this talented group of scholars to campus and look forward to engaging with them on the foundations of price theory and the rigorous economic thinking that will shape their research for years to come.”
During this intensive one-week program, to be held from June 14 through June 18, 2026, at The University of Chicago, participants attend lectures by UChicago and visiting faculty and have the opportunity to discuss their own work with some of the world’s leading economists. The 2026 faculty include Luis Garicano of the London School of Economics, Edward Glaeser of Harvard University, Kilian Huber, Erik Hurst, Casey Mulligan and Chad Syverson of the University of Chicago.
Now in its sixteenth year, the Summer Camp boasts 457 alumni, approximately 300 of whom have completed their PhD and entered the workforce. 82 percent of alumni pursued careers in academia, while others work in the government or private sector. The 2026 cohort will join a robust network of working economists steeped in price theory.
Since its formation, the Price Theory Summer Camp has been generously supported by MarrGwen and Stuart Townsend.
For more information on the 2026 Price Theory Summer Camp
2026 Price Theory Summer Camp Cohort
The following 40 PhD students have been selected for the 2026 cohort:
Ashruta Acharya, George Mason University
Carmen Armas, University of Minnesota
William Arnesen, Harvard University
Verónica Backer Peral, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ethan Bergmann, University of Michigan
Marta Bilghese, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Arnav Deshpande, New York University
Willie Dong, University of Maryland, College Park
Monica Essig Aberg, University of California, Berkeley
Catriona Farquharson, Harvard University
Neiva Fortes, Syracuse University
Siyuan Hu, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Charles Hutchinson, University of California, Los Angeles
Abhisit Jiranaphawiboon, Stanford University
Ariel Karlinsky, Hebrew University
Jostin Alfredo Kitmang Mantencios, Harvard University
Meghna Laha, Clemson University
Kayla Layden, University of Arizona
Xiang Liu, University of Minnesota
Marian Melnyk, City University of New York Graduate Center
Gideon Moore, Stanford University
Santiago Mosquera, University of California, Los Angeles
Brian Murphy, University of Houston
Jesse Nelson, University of Michigan
Naiwen Pang, Rice University
Chrissie Pantoja Vallejos, Duke University
Liam Puknys, University of Maryland, College Park
Bohdan Salahub, University of California, Los Angeles
Maryam Salihu, American University, Washington DC
Shubhangi Singh, University of Houston
Irene Solmone, Bocconi University
Ragini Srinivasan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
John Temming, George Mason University
Paola Gabriela Villa Paro, University of Michigan
Pin-Chao Wang, University of Virginia
Fanyu Wang, Columbia University
Collin Wardius, University of California, San Diego
Benjamin Wittenbrink, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Omry Yoresh, London School of Economics
Ziyue Zhu, Maastricht University