Becker Friedman Institute for Economics

Why Is Manufacturing Productivity Growth So Low? | Becker Friedman Institute Official productivity statistics paint a picture of a manufacturing industry in decline. From 1987 to 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (TFP) index for manufacturing grew by 1.2% annually, ou...

Research by Enghin Atalay, Ali Hortaçsu, Nicole Kimmel, and Chad Syverson.

🔗 bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/why...

Nearly all manufacturing productivity growth since 1987—and its post-2000s decline—comes from a few computer-related industries. Conventional stats understate the sector’s true productivity by missing quality gains.

The Breakdown of the English Society of Orders: The Role of the Industrial Revolution | Becker Friedman Institute Few areas of economic research have attracted as much attention in recent decades as issues surrounding social mobility, both among researchers and policymakers. Even as economists argued about causat...

The Industrial Revolution shattered England’s centuries-old “society of orders,” bringing new opportunities and a “dawn of liberty” for workers once bound by rigid hierarchies.

Research by Cara Ebert, Leander Heldring, James Robinson, and Sebastian Vollmer.

🔗 ow.ly/Z1LS50XbWBm

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

A student of Nobel laureate Gary Becker, Peña makes human capital theory accessible for everyone—connecting economic ideas to everyday life.

📍Reception + book signing with refreshments!

What is human capital—and why does it shape everything from parenting to work to health? 💡

Join us Oct 29, 2025, for a book talk with Pablo Peña on Human Capital for Humans.

🎁 First 30 attendees get a free copy!

🔗 RSVP here: ow.ly/O0ug50XaEKE
#BookTalk #UChicago

I've already got my copy and am excited to be kicking off this conversation. If you're in Chicago on Oct 29, please join us on campus!

HUGE congrats to Philippe Aghion who shared the Nobel Prize in Economics this morning!

Philippe and his work with fellow laureate Peter Howitt on "sustained growth through creative destruction” have been instrumental for the Growth Academy co-hosted by
@beckerfriedman.bsky.social & the World Bank

Artificial Writing and Automated Detection | Becker Friedman Institute Generative Artificial Intelligence tools have been adopted faster than any other technology on record, giving rise to writing that is either assisted or entirely completed by Large Language Models (LLMs). The ubiquity of AI-generated writing across domains such as school assignments and consumer reviews presents a new challenge to stakeholders aiming to detect whether content Read more...

Commercial AI detectors far outperform open-source tools—Pangram achieves near-zero error, while some open-source models misclassify up to 78% of human text as AI. A new framework helps institutions weigh false positives vs. missed AI.
Research by Jabarian & Imas. https://ow.ly/EAoW50X7p6E

Economists gathered at the Becker Friedman Institute to celebrate Fernando Alvarez at 60—honoring his groundbreaking contributions, mentorship, and friendship. A true tribute to a scholar who’s shaped both ideas and lives. 🎉 https://ow.ly/ke3H50X7VJs

Superstar Firms Through the Generations | Becker Friedman Institute In recent years, researchers and the business media have focused attention on superstar firms, or that small set of top companies that account for a large share of output. However, though we understand a good deal about the current make-up of these firms, questions persist about how these firms are born, and whether/how these firms Read more...

New technologies that scale easily, are cheap to adopt, and require organizational learning can create superstar firms that dominate for long periods—gaining lasting advantages over predecessors and new entrants. Research by Ma, Pugsley, Qin & Zimmermann.https://ow.ly/c0aK50X7oON

The Economics of Early Childhood: Why the First Five Years Matter Most | Becker Friedman Institute Nobel laureate James Heckman explains why ages zero to five are critical for brain development and lifelong outcomes. He discusses the Perry Preschool Program’s surprising health benefits 35 years later, why low-cost home-visiting programs that engage parents outperform expensive institutional interventions, and how “dynamic complementarity” means early skills beget later skills. Heckman also critiques economics’ Read more...

Nobel laureate Prof. James Heckman explains why ages 0–5 shape lifelong outcomes. From the Perry Preschool Program’s lasting health gains to parent-focused interventions and “dynamic complementarity,” early skills build later ones. Listen and watch now: https://ow.ly/vVHr50X7PFB

The Effects of Parental Income and Family Structure on Intergenerational Mobility: A Trajectories-Based Approach | Becker Friedman Institute A rich literature within economics focuses on , or, the relationship between parents’ socioeconomic status and their children’s outcomes later in life. While much research focuses on how parents’ average income shapes that of their child, research also suggests that timing matters across childhood. Moreover, joint consideration of family income and family structure is less Read more...

Parental income and family structure during childhood shape adult income—especially in middle childhood and adolescence. These effects complement one another across key developmental stages. Research by Yoosoon Chang, Steven Durlauf, Bo Hu & Joon Park. https://ow.ly/kZeL50X7ott

Research ProfessionaL– John List (Full-Time, Benefits Eligible) Chicago, IL

🚀 Launch your research career at the University of Chicago! Chicago Experiments is hiring a Research Professional to work on cutting-edge empirical economics — labor, education, behavioral & more. Apply/more info: https://ow.ly/c5Os50X7msF

bfisocials | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook | Linktree Linktree. Make your link do more.

📢 Stay curious, stay connected! Follow BFI on all our social channels for the latest research, events, and big ideas shaping the future of economics & policy. 🚀 https://ow.ly/GcGw50X5Opz

The Case for Economic Literacy Revisited - Economics for Everyone By Carl Coates September 29, 2025 — George J. Stigler’s article The Case, If Any, For Economic Literacy turned 55 this past spring. His assertions are nowhere close to retirement. In fact they remain vibrant and all too relevant for today’s economic educators. George Stigler, the 1982 Nobel Prize winner and University of...

Revisiting George Stigler’s The Case for Economic Literacy reminds us that the need for broad economic understanding is as vital today as it was half a century ago. Check out this blog post from E4E 👉 https://ow.ly/XfE950X4sWY

📅 October 29, 2025
📍 Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, 1155 E 58th St, Chicago, IL 60637

Additional copies will be available for purchase. Complimentary refreshments will be served—don’t miss this chance to explore Gary Becker’s legacy and its impact today.

Join us for a special event with Pablo Peña on Human Capital for Humans! 🎉 The first 30 attendees will receive a free copy, with a book signing + reception to follow. RSVP and more information here: https://ow.ly/S8YA50X4tGc

Research Professional – Josh Gottlieb and Matt Notowidigdo (Full-Time, Benefits Eligible) Chicago, IL

Predoc opportunity in health/labor/public economics at @beckerfriedman.bsky.social: job-boards.greenhouse.io/universityof...

Please share widely!

Research Professional – Josh Gottlieb and Matt Notowidigdo (Full-Time, Benefits Eligible) Chicago, IL

Predoc opportunity in health/labor/public economics at @beckerfriedman.bsky.social: job-boards.greenhouse.io/universityof...

Please share widely!

#EconSky

The Hidden Volatility of American Workers' Paychecks

NEW from @ganong.bsky.social, Pascal Noel, Christina Patterson, Joe Vavra, and Alexander Weinberg:

Many workers experience substantial fluctuations in pay, leading to:
↕️fluctuating consumption
⬆️ propensity to quit

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...

Trust in Banks and Borrower Behavior: Evidence from Supervisory Actions and Local Information Quality | Becker Friedman Institute Americans’ trust in the banking sector has collapsed this century, with the percentage of US adults with high confidence in banks tumbling from 53% in 2004 to 10% in 2023, following the and the . Furt...

New research by Samuel Chang, Rimmy Tomy (Chicago Booth), and Jizhou Wang: high-quality borrowers strategically avoid banks under enforcement, underscoring how trust and reputation shape credit markets. 📑 Read the research brief here: ow.ly/1JFn50WPSzV

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…. .

NEW: America used to be a nation on the move—now mobility has collapsed. Harris Policy's @ganong.bsky.social and @theatlantic.com’s @yappelbaum.bsky.social explore how housing rules trap opportunity on the latest episode of The Pie🎙️: ow.ly/a1rU50WPK6T

What Drives Educational Technology Adoption in Classrooms Serving Young Children? Evidence from Two Experiments | Becker Friedman Institute For teachers, the desire to adopt educational apps in their classrooms to improve student learning is challenged by the increasing number of available apps and by the difficulty of judging their effec...

Can research sway edtech adoption? A study by Daniela Bresciani Andaluz, @arielkalil.bsky.social (Harris Policy), Michelle Michelini & @rohenshah.bsky.social finds mixed effects—evidence shapes educators’ choices differently by role. Read the research brief here: ow.ly/xC0o50WNJ5e

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

New paper! (And note that effects faded to a pretty precise 0 by six months later)

Reskilling and Resilience | Becker Friedman Institute Workplace shocks often trigger a cascade of psychological and relationship effects that extend far beyond the individual worker. While research shows that effective reskilling can restore employment p...

Reskilling programs not only boost careers—they prevent 1 in 3 injured workers from developing depression, benefit partners’ mental health, and return $3.20 for every $1 invested. New research brief from @andershumlum.bsky.social and Pernille Plato: bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/res...

Post-Roe Planning: The Effect of Dobbs v. Jackson on Contraceptive and Sterilization Choices | Becker Friedman Institute When the Supreme Court issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), reversing 1973’s Roe v. Wade that established federal abortion protections on contraceptive and steri...

📊 The 2022 Dobbs ruling reshaped reproductive choices. In states hostile to abortion, monthly rates rose: +22% female sterilization, +18% male sterilization, +15% long-acting contraception. Read the research brief from Yana Gallen and Daisy Lu here: ow.ly/o63A50WJ61x