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  • Deshpande Elected Member of the National Academy of Social Insurance

    Published by on Feb 22, 2018

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    The Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics congratulates Manasi Deshpande, newly elected Member of the National Academy of Social Insurance. Shaun O'Brien, Chair of NASI's Membership Committee states, “Our newly-elected Members include some of the nation’s leading experts and most creative problem solvers in social insurance and inequality, which is the Academy’s overarching theme and a critical challenge for our country.” The organization's stated mission is "to advance solutions to challenges facing the nation by increasing public understanding of how social insurance contributes to economic security," including established programs such as "Workers’ Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, as well as related areas of healthcare policy, long-term services and supports, paid leave, other social assistance programs, and private employee benefits." (Photo courtesy of the Becker Friedman Institute)

  • Study Finds Gender Pay Gap Among Uber Drivers

    Published by on Feb 19, 2018

    Using a sample of over 1 million drivers, a team of researchers from the University of Chicago's Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, Stanford University, and Uber found the platform's male drivers earn about 7 percent more than do women. The team noted that Uber’s payment algorithm does not factor in gender, so payments should be equal between men and women for the same amount of driving; passenger ratings also do not affect drivers' pay. Department Chair John List and the study's coauthors recently spoke with the Freakonomics Radio podcast, explaining that if there were any driver pay gap, he would expect it to favor women: “I knew that [women] had worked fewer hours per week [in their other jobs], so they had a chance to cherry-pick the better hours during the week [when working for Uber].” So what might cause the difference in drivers' pay? The study offers three factors: length of experience working with Uber, where and when drivers choose to work, and driving speed. Access the new working paper: "The Gender Earnings Gap in the Gig Economy: Evidence from over a Million Rideshare Drivers," from Cody Cook, Rebecca Diamond, Jonathan Hall, John A. List, and Paul Oyer.

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