Becker Friedman Institute Working Papers

The core activities of the Becker Friedman Institute are designed for supporting, advancing, sharing, discussing, and refining research that can help answer important economic and policy questions.

Building on the longstanding discussion of refining research through vigorous discussion and debate, the Institute organizes opportunities for scholars to connect and share their work conferences, lectures, and workshops. Through these activities, the Institute is supporting active inquiry across across fields and disciplines on a wide range of important topics such as education policy, econometrics, financial market structure, health economics, labor markets, monetary theory, and many more.

Working Papers

Another way we disseminates new research and encourage comments and discussion is through the Becker Friedman Institute Working Paper Series. We welcome submissions from University of Chicago faculty and affiliated scholars. Papers are available on IDEAS / RePEc or on SSRN.

Research Initiatives

To help address knowledge gaps or important policy questions, the Institute supports sustained, collaborative research initiatives, each focusing on a significant economic or issue or a specific research approach. These initiatives encompass typical Institute activities—research support, conferences, workshops, visiting scholars, and student involvement—but are more enduring, with greater flexibility to explore key issues in creative ways.  Current initiatives include:

• Economics of the Family
• Financial Sector Linkages to the Macroeconomy
  Fiscal Imbalance
• Human Capital and Economic Opportunity
  The Andrew and Betsy Rosenfield PRogram in Economics, Public Policy, and Law
• Price Theory

Student Research Experiences

To help cultivate the next generation of innovative researchers, the institute offers unique, intensive summer research experiences to enhance the training of economics PhD students. These include:

• Initiative for Computational Economics
• Price Theory Summer Camp
• Summer School on Socioeconomic Inequality

Throughout the year, fellowships, visiting opportunities, and events like the Becker Brown Bag Series and the Friedman Forum Undergraduate Lecture Series offer students first-hand opportunities to hear, discuss, and conduct research with some of the world's leading economists.