University of Chicago: Department of Economics

Influential economic forecaster, Michael Mussa, dies at 67

In a career spanning four decades, Michael Mussa published widely on international economics as a leading figure in the analysis of balance of payments and exchange rate determination. An active contributor to research and public policy communities, Mussa held prominent roles in academia, financial advisory panels and nongovernmental organizations. Michael Mussa earned a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1970, and his economics doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1974. Mussa served as faculty at the Booth School of Business, from 1976-1991, teaching courses on international business and finance. He will be greatly missed. View full story »

James Heckman Remarks at the White House Early Learning Challenge Announcement

James Heckman was invited to speak at the White House on December 19th, 2011, following the announcement that nine states-- California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Washington-- would receive grants to invest in high-quality early learning and development programs through the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grant competition. Watch Video.

Sam Kortum elected Fellow of the Econometric Society

Samuel Kortum, Professor in Economics and the College, Frisch Prize Medal Co-winner (2004), and Editor of the Journal of Political Economy, has been elected Fellow of the Econometric Society. The Econometric Society, founded in 1930, is the most prestigious learned society in the field of economics, with a world wide membership-- Fellows represent the highest authority of the Society, electing its Officers, Council and new Fellows in annual elections. The honor acknowledges Kortum for his significant contribution to economics. His research focuses on quantitative models of international trade, technology diffusion, and firm dynamics.

The Wall Street Journal interviewed Robert Lucas

Read "Chicago Economics on Trial"

Derek Neal selected as the next Grossman Prize Lecturer

Derek has developed a new undergraduate course entitled, "The Economics of Education" which is being offered for the first time in Spring 2011. The new course teaches students how to analyze the markets for educational services that build the skills that translate into wealth in modem economics. The course begins by exploring the sources of parental and student demand for education. Early lectures explore economic models of human capital, signaling, and spillovers that provide different ways to understand the value of education. These lectures also explore existing empirical evidence on the value of education.

John List nominated to the Academy of Arts and Sciences

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences announced its 2011 class of fellows on Tuesday, April 19. John List was among the 212 new fellows. View full story »

New Faculty

We are pleased to announce that E. Glen Weyl (Princeton University) will be joining us at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and in the College on July 1, 2011. His research focuses on pure and applied price theory, focusing on industrial organization. Alessandra Voena (Stanford University) will be joining us on July 1, 2012, at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and in the College, after a one-year postdoc at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her research focuses on applied microeconomics, applied econometrics and labor economics.  In addition, Richard van Weelden (Yale University) will be joining us on July 1, 2012, at the rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and in the College, after a one-year postdoc at the European University Institute in Florence.  His research focuses on microeconomic theory, applied game theory and political economy.

Lars Peter Hansen awarded BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowlege Award in the Economics, Finance and Management category goes to Professor Lars Peter Hansen of the University of Chicago “for making fundamental contributions to our understanding of how economic actors cope with risky and changing environments”. View details »

Roger Myerson elected to membership in the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

Azeem Shaikh receives Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship for 2011. View details »

February 23 – March 16, 2011

The MFI will sponsor a workshop series on the use of text as data, organized by Matthew Gentzkow at Booth. This special four week workshop series will bring together researchers from a variety of disciplines, with speakers from the fields of political science, law, computer science, applied mathematics, and more. View details

James J. Heckman offers a provocative idea for reducing spiraling budget deficits and strengthening the economy: investing in early childhood development. View full story »

John List has been named the Homer J. Livingston Professor.

James J. Heckman elected to the presidency of the Econometric Society

Heckman has been elected Second Vice-President, will become First Vice-President in 2012, and President in 2013. Heckman is the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. His research integrates econometrics, economic theory and policy analysis.

The Econometric Society is an international society for the advancement of economic theory in its relation to statistics and mathematics. The Society aims to promote studies that attempt to unify the theoretical-quantitative and empirical-quantitative approach to economic problems by employing constructive and rigorous thinking characteristic of the natural sciences. The Econometric Society was founded in 1930, by Yale economist Irving Fisher and the Norwegian economist Ragnar Frisch, who later was the first economist to be awarded the Nobel Prize. Henry Schultz of the University of Chicago was a founder of the Society, and it is fitting that Heckman holds the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Chair in Economics and Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

John List named by Forbes as one of seven powerful new economists View full story »

Roger Myerson honored at economics conference in Marseille, France

Roger Myerson, the Glen A. Lloyd Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, received the Medaille de Citoyen d'honneur de la ville de Marseille, making him an honorary citizen of Marseille, France. View full story »

John List awarded the Kenneth Galbraith prize by the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA)

The award was given for recognition of List’s “breakthrough discoveries in economics and outstanding contributions to humanity through leadership, research, and service.” In presenting the award the committee cited List’s pathbreaking work using field experiments in economics.

James Heckman elected into the Academia Sinica on July 8, 2010

Academia Sinica is an international research institution aimed at improving academic research conditions and standards through placing great emphasis on opening up new areas of intellectual endeavor. View details »

Gary Becker receives the 2010 Alumni Medal

Professor Gary Becker, AM’53, PhD’55, will receive the 2010 Alumni Medal at the Alumni Convocation at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 5 at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel for his work as a Nobel Prize-winning economist. View full story »

Hansen Details 2011 Nobel Laureates' Impact on Econometrics

In a Bloomberg News article, Lars Peter Hansen highlighted the many valuable contributions of Chris Sims and Tom Sargent. View full story »

James Heckman elected into the National Academy of Education (NAEd)

The National Academy of Education is dedicated to the advancement of the highest quality education research and its use in policy formation and practice.

Robert Shimer elected as a fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

View a complete list of the 2010 class of new members »

Hugo Sonnenschein awarded BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award In Economics

Hugo Sonnenschein (New York, 1940) and Andreu Mas-Colell (Barcelona, 1944) share the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Economics, Finance and Managemnt for extending the reach and applicability of general equilibrium analysis and for establishing the modern theory of aggregate demand. According to the jury’s citation, their work has helped achieve better models for the overall behavior of the economy, and particularly to interpret and empirically measure consumer behavior. View full story »

Top 100 Economics Schools Research Rankings for 2011

The University of Chicago, Department of Economics was ranked second among economics programs in a world-wide survey by Tilburg University. The Top 100 Economics Schools Research Rankings for 2011 was made based on publications, for the period of 2006-2010, in 36 of the top 68 leading journals in Economics, Finance and Econometrics.  View full story »

US News and World Report Ranking

The University of Chicago is ranked as the top graduate school for Economics in the nation by US News and World Report. We are proud to share this ranking with MIT, Harvard and Princeton. View the 2009 rankings »