The Surreal Economics of the Contemporary-Art Market
Why prices (if you can even find them) have gone berserk.
The Surreal Economics of the Contemporary-Art MarketAcademic Areas Microeconomics Faculty and Research
The microeconomics faculty at Chicago Booth are shaping the understanding of modern economic theory and practice with an enduring global impact.
Their research spans a broad spectrum that includes powerful insights from basic interactions between supply and demand, along with insights from information economics and mechanism design. Combining theory and data, their empirical research explores inequality and taxes along with the impacts of productivity growth. Our faculty are on the cutting edge of helping to understand today’s most pressing economic issues.
Microeconomics faculty at Booth have played key roles in government and advised world leaders. Austan D. Goolsbee, for instance, served in Washington as the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and a member of President Obama’s cabinet.
Our faculty regularly publish in the world’s leading economics journals, including the American Economic Review, and their work has garnered the most prestigious economics awards, including the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
The faculty in this academic area teach a broad variety of MBA, PhD, and Executive Education courses. In every academic program, our faculty bring insights from their research to the classes they teach—from the fundamental business courses Microeconomics and Price Theory to expanded courses including Managing the Workplace, the Firm and the Non-Market Environment, and Business in Historical Perspective.
Microeconomics Faculty
At Booth, our faculty often incorporate emerging topics and their own research into their classes. These courses begin with fundamental business courses in microeconomics such as Price Theory I, and expand into courses including Managing the Workplace, the Firm and the Non-Market Environment, and Business in Historical Perspective.
Discover more about our microeconomics faculty, including the classes they teach, below.
Featured Research in Chicago Booth Review
Discover some of the latest research from our microeconomics professors.
Is the US Undercounting Manufacturing Productivity Growth?
Consumer prices indicate that manufacturing output has been far more impressive than generally believed.
Is the US Undercounting Manufacturing Productivity Growth?
What’s Holding Back Social Enterprises
Socially minded entrepreneurs face some particular obstacles.
What’s Holding Back Social Enterprises
Awards and Honors
Marianne Bertrand, the Chris P. Dialynas Professor of Economics, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, joining other scientists and researchers chosen in “recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” She is an applied microeconomist whose research covers the fields of labor economics, corporate finance, and development economics.
Awards and Honors
Research with Impact
“What we found is something that we’re finding again and again in all of our A.I. work, that every time you see that an algorithm has done something really bad, there’s no engineering error. That’s very, very different than the traditional bugs in code that you’re used to.”
Much of Sendhil Mullainathan’s recent research examines the social impact of artificial intelligence—including, in one instance, documenting how an algorithm used widely by health-care organizations resulted in racially biased outcomes. His research could have profound implications for the design, application, and regulation of algorithms.
Research with ImpactOur MBA Concentrations in This Area
Our PhD Dissertation Areas in This Area
Joint Program in Financial Economics
Conduct research at the intersection of finance and economics in collaboration with faculty whose insights have shaped both fields.
Joint Program in Financial Economics
Choose Your Path to Success
Tell us about yourself, and we will show you the value of a Booth education.
Microeconomics Faculty In the News
Is a 50-year mortgage really that much crazier than a 30-year one?
November 18, 2025 | NPR: Planet Money
“Honestly, I kind of think it’s a fine idea,” Chicago Booth’s Eric Zwick says of President Trump’s idea for 50-year fixed mortgages. “It’s not obviously so different from a 30-year fixed mortgage.”
Some college graduates are struggling to find work. Here are some reasons why.
October 3, 2025 | NPR
Chicago Booth’s Matt Notowidigdo discusses why the share of long-term unemployed college graduates has increased.
Balance of power shifts back towards bosses
January 13, 2025 | The Wall Street Journal
“Firms are trying to reset expectations,” says Chicago Booth’s Michael Gibbs on recent employer changes to remote-work policies and employee benefits.
Partnering across the University of Chicago and Beyond
Our microeconomics faculty members regularly contribute to centers and initiatives outside of Booth. From professor Austan D. Goolsbee’s work moderating discussions on politics with the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics to professor Marianne Bertrand’s work with the UChicago Urban Labs, our faculty are dedicated to fulfilling the broader mission of the University of Chicago.
The majority of our microeconomics professors are affiliated scholars with the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Apply to Faculty Positions
Learn more about applying to our open faculty positions and joining the world-renowned faculty at Booth.
Apply to Faculty Positions
Learn About Our Research Workshops
Our research workshops provide a forum for faculty, PhD students, and invited guests to present, discuss, and debate new research.
Learn About Our Research WorkshopsResearch Spotlight
“Dust Bowl Migrants: Identifying an Archetype”
Richard Hornbeck
“Quantifying Information and Uncertainty”
Emir Kamenica and Alexander P. Frankel
“Across-Country Wage Compression in Multinationals”
Heather Sarsons, with coauthors Jonas Hjort (Columbia University), and Xuan Li (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)
Research Centers in This Area
Research centers across Booth and the University of Chicago are hubs for innovation and world-changing research. The centers provide our faculty with research support, and our faculty members lend their expertise to the centers, enriching the student experience and the broader academic community at Booth.
Becker Friedman Institute for Economics
Reporting to the Office of the Provost, the Becker Friedman Institute for Economics fosters novel insights on the world’s most difficult economic problems, bringing together researchers from the entire Chicago economics community.
Becker Friedman Institute for Economics
Center for Research in Security Prices, LLC
An affiliate of Chicago Booth, CRSP, LLC is the leading provider of historical stock market data for researchers. The center has long been an integral part of the academic and commercial world of financial and economic research.
Center for Research in Security Prices, LLC
Fama-Miller Center for Research in Finance
With a mission to push the boundaries of research in finance, the Fama-Miller Center provides institutional structure and support for researchers in the field.
Fama-Miller Center for Research in Finance
George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State
The Stigler Center confronts conventional thinking and investigates the obstacles preventing markets from being truly competitive.
George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State
Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets
The Clark Center for Global Markets organizes Booth faculty efforts to influence public policy and the practice of business around the world. By hosting expert panels, visiting thought leaders, and conferences, the Clark Center raises the impact of Booth research.
Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets
Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation
As Booth’s social impact hub, the Rustandy Center offers hands-on learning opportunities, supports innovative courses, and pursues research—all with the goal of developing people and practices with the potential to solve the world’s biggest problems.
Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation