Do you think economics can save the world? Well, the economists at the University of Chicago seem to think so. On November 19th, the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago (BFI) hosted a policy round table where they discussed the implications of economics on a variety of social issues facing the world including poverty, education in third world countries, and gender inequality. Moderated by Michael Greenstone, director of BFI and former Chief Economist for President Obama’s Council of Advisors, the event featured the 2019 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics, Abhijit Banerjee, and other esteemed economists including Wally Adeyemo, Katherine Baicker, and Steve Levitt. While they discussed current social issues facing the world, they also discussed issues facing economists. Both the inaccessibility of research and rising rates of mistrust of economists are widening the “divide between academia and government” and preventing the research from academia to influence future policy. In order to combat this problem, economists with various backgrounds from across the country came together to rebuild public trust and determine solutions for the future. If you are interested in exploring the intersection of business, public policy, economics, and law, be sure to keep an eye out for the many free events around Chicago hosted by BFI at https://bfi.uchicago.edu/events/.
