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.
👉Subscribe now: bfi.uchicago.edu/subscribe
BFI is pleased to announce that Diana Smith has been named Executive Director!
With more than 13 years at University of Chicago, Smith brings extensive experience advancing academic programs, supporting research, and building strategic partnerships.
Why does Latin America grow slowly?
A new BFI research brief in collaboration with @uandresbello explores how capital and workers remain stuck in firms that use them less productively, limiting economic growth.
Evidence from Brazil reveals two key findings:
• Subsidized credit largely flowed to large, low-risk firms without increasing investment.
• Workers who left establishments following labor inspections moved to better-paying firms.
The takeaway? Economic growth depends not just on increasing investment, but on helping capital and workers move toward more productive uses.
Read Stuck: Why Capital and Workers Don’t Go Where They’re Needed: bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/st…
📚 How do educational materials teach children about emotions?
New research from Anjali Adukia, Matthew Bonci, Paula Dastres, Emileigh Harrison, Jake Nicoll, and Teodora Szasz examines how textbooks and children’s books portray emotions. bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/ho…
The researchers find that while written content presents a wide range of emotions, illustrations overwhelmingly emphasize happiness and calm.
Demand for positive imagery may help reinforce this pattern.
These findings highlight differences in how children encounter emotions through words and images in educational materials.
Explore the findings in BFI’s latest research brief, “(How) Do We Teach Emotions?” bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/ho…
How is AI reshaping social science?
On October 8–9, BFI brought together researchers across disciplines for the 2026 AI in Social Science Conference, featuring a keynote by Jens Ludwig. @CAAI_Booth
Explore conference highlights and view photos: bfi.uchicago.edu/events/even…
📢 BFI is hiring!
Explore predoctoral Research Professional opportunities at UChicago, working alongside leading economists and gaining hands-on experience in economic research.
View open positions and apply: bfi.uchicago.edu/employment-…
How can Europe balance competitiveness, energy security, and climate goals?
Join BFI on Oct. 27 for a public event featuring Veronika Grimm, exploring Europe's energy and industrial transformation amid shifting geopolitical pressures.
How can Europe balance competitiveness, energy security, & climate amid shifting geopolitics?
Join @GrimmVeronika (Economist @UTN_Nuremberg & German Council of Economic Experts) next Tuesday.
📅 Oct 27, 5–6:30pm CT
📍 Harper Center, UChicago
Register: bfi.uchicago.edu/events/even…
📢 We're hiring!
BFI and @UChiEnergy are seeking a full-time Research Professional to work with Professor Koichiro Ito on energy and environmental policy research across the US and internationally.
📍 Chicago, IL
📅 Start: Summer 2027
Apply now: job-boards.greenhouse.io/uch…
Roughly 3 million Americans own private businesses and have a net worth of at least $5 million.
On a new episode of The Pie, Chicago Booth economist Eric Zwick joins Tess Vigeland to discuss The Everywhere Millionaire, his new book with Owen Zidar.
Drawing on a decade of tax data, Zwick and Zidar examine a class of wealthy Americans that includes car dealers, dentists, and beer distributors operating in communities across the country.
Learn more about the book: everywheremillionaire.com/
Listen to the latest episode of The Pie: An Economics Podcast to hear Zwick discuss the research and what it reveals about wealth in America. bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/th…
🏅 Fifty years ago today, University of Chicago economist Milton Friedman was named the recipient of the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
BFI marks this milestone and recognizes the lasting influence of one of its namesakes on economic thought. Read more:
bfi.uchicago.edu/milton-frie…
