John A. List

Heading out to Philadelphia for the 15th Annual Behavioral Science and Health Symposium. This promises to be a really super event with great speakers.

All are invited! You can find the agenda and register here: chibeevents.my.canva.site/2025symposium

Hope to see you on Friday!

Interview Scheduling Strategies of New Ph.D. Economists Given the importance of job placement for Ph.D.s, it is surprising that economists have not closely examined the factors that affect procuring job interviews for new Ph.D. economists.' In this study,

Not exactly the success story you'd want to emulate! That said, that experience did cause me to collect data, and publish the results: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura...

So while I can't offer personal success secrets, I can offer data. I usually like that better anyways!

It's job market season for PhD economists, and my inbox is filling up with requests for advice. Given the PhD job market this year, I understand why people are seeking guidance wherever they can find it.

But let's be honest: I'm probably the last person you should ask—150 applications, 1 interview.

Our Best Chance to Make Real Change? Scalable Ideas with Pri Presentation Slides

Our Best Chance to Make Real Change? Scalable Ideas with Private Partners

That is the title of my discussion this afternoon with a group of University of Chicago students. Slides are here, which include a field experiment with airline pilots and scaling insights: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura...

Shout out to @johnlist.bsky.social, @gubri.bsky.social and Sabrina Liu on this work!

I'm personally particularly pumped that @beckerfriedman.bsky.social will be helping build on these findings!

Introducing The SPEAK: A Scalable Computer- Adaptive Tool to Measure Knowledge of Early Human Development | Becker Friedman Institute Research shows responsive caregiving enhances children’s brain development, with parental knowledge predicting positive behaviors and outcomes. However, knowledge varies widely across educational leve...

Introducing SPEAK—a scalable, computer-adaptive tool to measure knowledge of early human development. By Gaudreau, Levine, @johnlist.bsky.social & @drdanasuskind.bsky.social, it identifies knowledge gaps to guide targeted interventions and improve child outcomes. ow.ly/fzOk50XbjrG

**NEW STUDY ALERT**
Parents want to help their children succeed. But what if they don't know what they don't know?

Yet we've lacked a comprehensive, scalable tool to quickly assess what parents and educators know—and where their knowledge gaps lie. We have one now: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/artefa...

The econ PhD market will be difficult this year. The exact same thing happened when I went on the market years ago: I sent out 150 applications...and got 1 interview! Then I wrote a paper about it! ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura...

Both sides of the market responded. Is this happening now too?

Last night's conversation about AI's strain on our energy grid led us to the classic tragedy of the commons problem. When asked what single change could help, my answer was immediate: "Put women in charge." And I have some field experimental evidence to back it up! ideas.repec.org/p/feb/artefa...

Why? Everyone had near-perfect quant scores—no variance to predict anything. Verbal scores actually differentiated candidates, and writing ability turns out to matter for research.

Please keep this between us because I want to maintain our competitive advantage and I want to avoid Campbells Law!

Just chatted with some pre-docs heading to the grad school market. They all agreed: quant GRE matters for admissions, verbal doesn't. So they don't try on verbal.

Here's what I learned doing admissions at UChicago
(2007-12): verbal scores had the most predictive power for job market paper quality.

(How) should businesses apoligize when they screw up? Field experiment on Uber rides by Halperin et al suggests the best form of apology is to include a coupon for a future trip, while just apologies—especially repeated—may backfire:

buff.ly/UvPPkc7
via @johnlist.bsky.social

Why Don’t Struggling Students Do Their Homework? Disentangling Motivation and Study Productivity as Drivers of Human Capital Formation Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

Just out in the NBER.....identification of a structural model of human capital skill formation amongst adolescents using a field experiment.

www.nber.org/papers/w34274

Experimental Economics: Theory and Practice Experimental Economics: Theory and Practice: 9780226820675: Economics Books @ Amazon.com

"of laboratory and field experiments. It provides a sophisticated roadmap for designing experiments that are both internally valid and externally meaningful—making it essential reading for graduate students and applied researchers alike." ~Ernst Fehr
www.amazon.com/dp/022682067...

Quite happy to report that Blurb #2 is in for my new Experimental Economics textbook. From none other than the indomitable Ernst Fehr!

"This advanced textbook offers a rigorous and comprehensive exploration of the methodological design..

Why Don't Struggling Students Do Their Homework? In a new study we use a field experiment to identify a structural model of learning.

We find that low productivity, not low motivation, is the stronger predictor of academic struggles. Study is available here: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/framed...

Great stuff @singhabhi.bsky.social!

Season 15, Episode 1 - Freakonomics Season 15, Episode 1 - Freakonomics

Tipping is a haphazard way to pay workers—yet it keeps expanding. With tax policy shifting pro-tip, Freakonomics revisits a 2019 episode with @johnlist.bsky.social on why tipping persists. 🎙
freakonomics.com/podcast/seas...

Today is the last day of the Chicago School in Experimental Economics taking place in Bonn, organized by @econtribute.bsky.social, @iza.org and the University of Chicago. Thanks to everyone that participated! @luca-henkel.bsky.social @johnlist.bsky.social @dfg.de #EconSky

Five Facts About the First-Generation Excellence Gap Parents are crucial to children's educational success, but the role of parental education in fostering academic excellence remains underexplored. Using longitudinal administrative data covering all No

We find large excellence gaps emerge by 3rd grade across all demographics and persist through high school.

Paper is here: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/artefa...

New Paper Alert
Given my first gen roots, this paper was especially satisfying to research and write, even though the results are a bit disheartening. We use administrative data covering all North Carolina public school students, to document five facts about first generation excellence gaps…. .

John List: Inspiring Student Curiosity through Real-World Economics In this episode, University of Chicago professor John List shares his unique approach to teaching economics.

🎙️ UChicago’s @johnlist.bsky.social joins St. Louis Fed’s Scott Wolla to discuss his innovative approach to teaching economics—sparking curiosity through real-world questions, field experiments, and behavioral insights. ow.ly/8E0W50WM85K

Providing the first large-scale analysis of College Saving Accounts participation and effectiveness, from Guglielmo Briscese, John A. List, and Sabrina Liu https://www.nber.org/papers/w34126

Especially appreciate Liverpool fans signing up!

Navigating the College Affordability Crisis: Insights from C With higher education costs consistently outpacing inflation and public funding declining, college affordability has become a critical barrier to economic mobility for middle- and low-income families.

We find that financial literacy emerges as a key barrier: 61% of parents who could save enough to cover half of college costs still perceive potential savings as fruitless. Overall, targeted financial literacy interventions can expand CSA effectiveness considerably. ideas.repec.org/p/feb/artefa...

**NEW PAPER ALERT**
When you have kids or believe that higher education is a critical tool for social mobility, college affordability is top of mind. College Savings Accounts offer a promising tool for financing higher education. We combine several data sources to explore key issues.

Is there a more effective and efficient way to curb workplace misbehaviour (under relative performance pay) than monitoring and punishment (which depress productivity and harm morale)?

Yes, field research by Flory et al finds—bonuses:

buff.ly/merEqSF
HT @johnlist.bsky.social

Call for Papers: Special Issue on the Science of Scaling We are excited to announce a special issue dedicated to the “Science of Scaling†in the Journal of Political Economy: Microeconomics. This special issue aims to advance rigorous, interdisciplinary

Our special issue seeks to foster novel theoretical and empirical papers that treat scaling as an object of study in its own right—exploring its methodological foundations, economic incentives, institutional challenges, and pathways to impact. Please spread the word! ideas.repec.org/p/feb/artefa...

Today, scaling has evolved far beyond its origins as a mere objective. It now represents a rich domain for scientific inquiry, demanding contributions from economics and allied disciplines. As such, I am excited to announce a special issue on scaling at the JPE-Micro!

Referees make the journal system work. They are selfless in volunteering their time to ensure that our science continues to progress.

All of the great referees out there please know that editors recognize your hard work and tireless effort. We do not always say it, but we do! Thank you.