The Becker Friedman Institute @UChicago supports inquiry on significant economic and policy questions. RT/Follow ≠ endorsement.
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Stay informed with BFI's Weekly Briefing🗞️—your source for the latest research insights, upcoming events, and more from the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics.
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How do disability benefits received in childhood shape outcomes later in life?
New research from Manasi Deshpande, Alessandra Voena, and Jason B. Weitze examines how Supplemental Security Income (SSI) affects children’s earnings in adulthood. bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/ho…
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The researchers find that receiving SSI in childhood increases adult earnings when parents continue working, meaning the transfer raises total household income.
But when parents reduce their earnings, SSI has zero or negative effects on children’s later outcomes.
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The findings suggest that, for low-income children with disabilities, increased household income may matter more for human capital development than additional parental time.
Read the new BFI Research Brief: bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/ho…
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How should universities teach students in the age of AI?
In a new @WSJ op-ed, UChicago President Paul Alivisatos discusses the University’s revised core curriculum and an approach that asks students to think with, without, and about AI.
Read more: wsj.com/opinion/teach-studen…
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Explore the latest economic commentary from UChicago scholars, fellows, and special guests. From Research Briefs and interactive charts to videos and podcasts, discover new insights on the economic questions shaping our world. 🔗 bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/
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Becker Friedman Institute for Economics retweeted
The @StiglerCenter at @ChicagoBooth has a new pre-doc role to work with Luigi Zingales @zingales
Learn more at bit.ly/4h1vW51
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Does zoning improve neighborhoods by managing spillovers, or does it prevent land from being put to its best use?
New BFI research finds that residential-commercial zoning increases neighborhood specialization and reduces resident welfare. bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/zo…
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The authors find zoning’s dominant effect is not correcting negative externalities like noise, congestion, or pollution, nor managing the potential benefits of mixed-use neighborhoods.
Instead, zoning often locks land into its second-best use.
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Read the new BFI Research Brief, “Zoning: Externalities or Misallocation?” by Yu-Hsin Ho, Chang-Tai Hsieh, Wen-Tai Hsu, and Yu-Jhih Luo: bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/zo…
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📢 Job opportunity at UChicago:
The Chicago Federal Statistical Research Data Center is recruiting a Research Administrator to support its UChicago branch in Saieh Hall for Economics. job-boards.greenhouse.io/uni…
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The role will work with researchers using confidential federal microdata, support proposal development and project management, oversee data stewardship requirements, and manage day-to-day lab operations.
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Applicants should have a graduate degree in a data-driven social science field. U.S. citizenship is required due to the federal hiring process.
Learn more and apply: job-boards.greenhouse.io/uni…
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Becker Friedman Institute for Economics retweeted
Such a great time connecting with friends and colleagues working in a field of economics that gets to the heart of human behaviour.
In the spirit of Milton Friedman, economic ideas ultimately have to confront the test of factual evidence. Today, field experiments take that challenge directly into the real world by testing how people actually behave, not simply how theory predicts they should.
We are live in Chicago at the @BeckerFriedman #AFE2026! 🥂🇺🇸
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Congratulations to BFI scholar and Nobel laureate Michael Kremer, who has been named the World Bank’s next Chief Economist!
Kremer (@DILatUChicago) will bring decades of research in development economics and global policy to the role. reuters.com/world/world-bank…
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🎙️ New episode of The Pie- But the Cool Kids are Still Online: Behind Australia’s Failed Social Media Ban
Last December, Australia banned social media for anyone under 16. Just four months later, only 1 in 4 14- and 15-year-olds were complying, and that share has fallen further.
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Why has the ban struggled, and what would it take to make a policy like this effective?
BFI’s Leonardo Bursztyn joins The Pie to discuss why Australia’s approach hasn’t worked and what a successful social media ban might entail.
Listen now: bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/bu…
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Who are America’s “everywhere millionaires,” and how did they build—and protect—their fortunes?
A new article featuring a review of BFI scholar Eric Zwick’s new book explores the wealth behind car dealerships, medical practices, convenience stores, and more.
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Read the article now: newyorker.com/magazine/2026/…
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New research from Robert D. Metcalfe, Alexandre B. Sollaci, and Chad Syverson examines the relationship between efficiency gains and market power in proposed mergers. bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/pr…
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The authors find that proposed mergers rarely offer both large efficiency gains and large market power gains.
Why? Either one alone can be enough to make a deal worth pursuing for firms, creating a negative relationship between the two among mergers that are proposed.
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This selection effect has important implications for antitrust policy, particularly when evaluating whether potential efficiencies can offset the harms of increased market power.
Read the new BFI Research Brief: bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/pr…
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