📊 Economist @durlauf.bsky.social of the @ucstonecenter.bsky.social tells @fox32chicago.bsky.social that the latest jobs report beat expectations, but flags warning signs ahead. https://har.rs/4siCtKK
Proud of your thesis or dissertation? Or know someone who should be?
The Stone Center Awards are now accepting nominations from both authors and advisors. Winners receive formal recognition and a cash prize.
Deadline to apply: May 8
Nominate today: bit.ly/3Oq1l5u
It’s not just about who you know; it’s the networks you belong to. @marioluissmall.bsky.social is pushing us to expand our focus from individuals to the structures that connect them.
Listen to this week's episode of The Inequality Podcast with host @durlauf.bsky.social: bit.ly/3PWzw5d
Our Summer School mentors are @guidoalfani.bsky.social, Béatrice Cherrier, @durlauf.bsky.social, Ariel Kalil, @paolaprofeta.bsky.social, @zparolin.bsky.social, and Antonio Villafranca.
Don't miss your chance to learn from the best!
Please join us!
Registration is now open for the Inequality Workshop’s spring quarter! We’re hosting four scholars whose research tackles big questions related to families, education, population trends, and immigration. Save your seat today → bit.ly/47pGAx8
Historian Kim Bowes wants us to stop calling ancient Romans "peasants." Talking with @durlauf.bsky.social, she details their use of credit, discretionary consumption, and economic shock planning, revealing a truly sophisticated society. Listen to The Inequality Podcast→ bit.ly/3PWoz3q
Our latest conference, Assessing Meritocracy, brought together scholars from eight countries to examine how meritocratic systems are implemented across contexts. Hosted in partnership with the International Institute of Research in Paris, it sharpened ideas and revealed new research directions.
Panelists:
🏛️ Steven Durlauf (@durlauf.bsky.social) – Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor, @harrispolicy.bsky.social
🏅Joel Moykr – Robert H. Strotz Professor, Northwestern University, 2025 Nobel Laureate
🏅James Robinson – Professor, University of Chicago, 2024 Nobel Laureate
Sam Bowles has spent decades reshaping how economics is taught. In a new feature, Stone Center Director @durlauf.bsky.social highlights five resources that reflect Bowles’s lasting contributions to pedagogy. Among them is the widely acclaimed @coreecon.bsky.social. Read it now→ bit.ly/4st33ly
How much of your life is shaped by the groups you belong to? @durlauf.bsky.social argues that this question is central to understanding inequality. He thinks the biggest policy wins may come from targeting the "bottlenecks" where group selection occurs. Listen to Durlauf on The Pie → bit.ly/4sTrLva
Joseph Stiglitz has a gift for turning classic market arguments on their head. In conversation with @durlauf.bsky.social, he frames the economy as a balancing act, with forces pulling and pushing it towards equilibrium. This tension, shaped by politics, drives inequality. Listen now → bit.ly/4bbnKe0
Coming up this Wednesday!
@durlauf.bsky.social of @ucstonecenter.bsky.social will discuss intergenerational mobility in China for two distinct epochs: the last 120 years of the Qing Dynasty and the last 30 years for modern China.
Register here ⬇️
events.ticketleap.com/tickets/iiil...
Join us for a special seminar by @durlauf.bsky.social of @ucstonecenter.bsky.social
He will describe intergenerational mobility in China for two epochs: the last 120 years of the Qing Dynasty and the last 30 years for modern China.
Attend in-person: buff.ly/XSqKGsp
Attend online: buff.ly/9WnHeg7
An extremely valuable synthesis of evidence on the effects of Head Start by @chloergibbs.bsky.social. Recommended!
3/ As such, the authors move beyond debates about the "cause" of the French Revolution to understanding the interplay of proximate and deeper factors. A remarkable achievement.
2/ The paper is a stunning integration of data ranging from spatial tax differences to analysis of the speeches of deputies in the National Assembly. The paper further explores the interplay of economic factors (tax burden) with measures reflecting differences in diffusion of Enlightenment ideas.
1/ Tommaso Giommoni, Gabriel Loumeau, and Marco Tabellini have written a fascinating paper on the forces influencing the dynamics of the French Revolution, ranging from The Great Fear to the decision to execute Louis XVI.
3/ Weiqi Wang is a predoc at the Center, developing great work on college admissions in China in addition to her work on intergenerational mobility. Every Economics PhD program in the world should be competing to attract her when she applies.
2/ Kristina Butaeva is a wonderful postdoc at the UChicago Stone Center, with papers on inequality and mobility that range from the US to Russia to China. She makes any social science department or research center deeper and more interesting.
1/ Delighted that this paper with my coauthors extraordinaire, @gtwodtke.bsky.social, Weiqi Wang, and Kristina Butaeva has been released. I want to highlight two of my coauthors. (Geoff Wodtke is a star sociologist and needs no introduction!)
I am delighted that this great conversation with Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan has posted. Their extraordinary work on intergenerational mobility and immigrants speaks to essential dimensions of the extent of equality of opportunity and of the process of assimilation.
Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan are using economic history to understand immigration. On The Inequality Podcast, they examine patterns of upward mobility and preview new research on the tone of modern political speeches. Listen to their conversation with @durlauf.bsky.social → bit.ly/4txjJsL
7/As for suggestions that this is virtual signalling, an example of cancel culture, my answer is simple. Virtuous conduct matters. Faculty/administrators help define the norms of their institutions. Attitudes and characters affect manifest in their decisions and interactions. Institutions must act.
6/Botstein's actions trivialized the sexual exploitation of women, and is unacceptable, period. Fundraising needs are a risible excuse.
5/As for Leon Botstein, he should resign or be removed. It is unacceptable for him to have continued a relationship with Epstein after his first conviction, assuming the best case scenario that Botstein was ignorant of Epstein's misdeeds prior to then.
4/Consequences do not necessarily require termination. My own view is that University honors, such as named chairs, directorships of research labs/centers should not be held by those engages in post 2008 relationships with Epstein.
3/Obviously, mention in the files does not mean consequences are warranted per se and schools should be clear on this. Individuals holding a meeting to seek money before Epstein's first conviction are completely different from Lawrence Summers, David Gelertner, etc.
2/It is essential that faculty are not only represented, but have the authority to determine consequences for misconduct. Any such body must be completely transparent and explain how consequences were determined to be appropriate. And yes, at least half of the decisionmakers must be women.
1/Universities need to systematically address the findings in the Epstein files. In my opinion, every university in which current or past faculty, administrators, trustees appear in the files, should establish formal bodies to review and assess.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/u...
