Ben Krause
Exec Director at UChicago's Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI): 'Frontier Research. Global Impact.' My own research is on development and governance, primarily in weak states and ungoverned spaces. Also: SciFi, dad jokes, midwesternisms.
- "Ayiti cheri pou jan m'adore w Pa gen anyen kap janm fè mwen kite w"
- Total Factor Productivity? Willingness To Pay? Why The Face? Most of these and more now all together on Becker Friedman Institute for Economics' BFI Blackboard! bfi.uchicago.edu/bfi-blackboa...
- An economic 'who done it' with a graphic reveal popping in pink! The FT featured recent work from Chad Syverson, Ali Hortacsu, and co-authors trying to answer "Why Is Manufacturing Productivity Growth So Low?" bfi.uchicago.edu/wp-content/u...
- Do you have kids? Might college be a part of their future? As someone who tends to overthink and underact on parenting decisions, this write-up (and the underlying research) really hit home. money.com/saving-for-c...
- Shout out to @johnlist.bsky.social, @gubri.bsky.social and Sabrina Liu on this work! I'm personally particularly pumped that @beckerfriedman.bsky.social will be helping build on these findings!
- I got to work quite closely with @doctorswithoutborders.org in Port-au-Prince when overseeing the J/P HRO hospitals. In addition to patching up a whole lot of people up from all of the dangers and tragedies that unfolded over those years . . .
- A great reminder of why we need more rigorous evidence in public policy! Special shout out to our Emanuele Colonnelli and his findings that corruption is also internally self-defeating and does not actual succeed in greasing the wheels. voxdev.org/topic/mythbu...
- In the hope that sharing this here isn't entirely self-defeating, check out this potential tool for overcoming our collective action problem of excessive social media use . . . brought to you by our own Leonardo Bursztyn. www.wsj.com/tech/persona...
- HUGE congrats to Philippe Aghion who shared the Nobel Prize in Economics this morning! Philippe and his work with fellow laureate Peter Howitt on "sustained growth through creative destruction” have been instrumental for the Growth Academy co-hosted by @beckerfriedman.bsky.social & the World Bank
- I had the opportunity to sit down with Nobel laureate Roger Myerson recently explore some of his ideas like these (our interview will be coming out soon, but in the meantime I wanted to share with you this):
- HUGE congratulations to Joel Mokyr who shared the Nobel Prize in economics this morning! We at Becker Friedman Institute for Economics hosted him just last fall along with Nobel laureates James Robinson and James Heckman as well as Deirdre McCloskey.
- I've already got my copy and am excited to be kicking off this conversation. If you're in Chicago on Oct 29, please join us on campus!
- I realize #Chicago is in the news quite a bit these days, but in case it might be for reasons other than this one, I want to make sure you know we're building the global hub for #Quantum #Innovation! #SiliconValleyByTheSweetWaterSeaShore news.uchicago.edu/story/ground...
- We're all struggling to feel our way through the swamp of AI slop that is flooding the internet. Check out the latest from Alex Imas and Brian Jabarian testing AI detection tools bfi.uchicago.edu/insights/art... -- spoiler: some solid reasons to check out www.pangram.com if you haven't already.
- The 2010 #earthquake in #Haiti, by some estimates among the largest natural disasters in history, left nearly a million-and-a-half survivors homeless and surrounded by the rubble.
- The vicious downward spiral in #Haiti of #instability to #economicStagnation to #violence to #economicIsolation is heart wrenching as I watch what my friends are subjected to.
- It was quite an honor and a ride to sit down with Jim for this conversation! Take a listen or have a watch and let me know your thoughts.
- 📢 We're Hiring: Senior Director, Global Communications at University of Chicago Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) I'm on the look out for an exceptional leader to take forward our global communications strategy! #hiring #communications #economics #leadership #UChicago #jobs
- As we're discussing the disparity in educational outcomes around the world today in the Human Capability Initiative, measurement is paramount.
- If you've not see it yet, check out these conversations I'm hosting on economics at #UChicago!
- Having a great time back in #SaudiArabia speaking at the Human Capability Initiative emphasizing the need for more collaborations between innovators, implementers, and researchers to advance both evidence-based policy and policy-based evidence. #HCI2025 #BeyondReadiness
- In case you missed the launch of Anthropic's new Economic Index, here's a great summary from Axios highlighting the primary takeaways: www.axios.com/2025/02/10/a...
- I'm very excited about this initiative and in particular the contributions of @beckerfriedman.bsky.social scholars especially Anders Humlum, as well as Michael Kremer @devinnovationlab.bsky.social and John List @johnlist.bsky.social. More to come! www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- I work on using research, specifically the scientific method, to improve policy in general and programs in poor counties specifically. So until the last few weeks, most of my engagements with USAID involved me critiquing their work so to get better results for people living in poverty.
