Chicago Booth in the News

BoE's Pill says rate cut still some way off, despite recent progress
April 23, 2024 | Reuters
"The combination of little news and the passage of time have brought a Bank Rate cut somewhat closer," said Bank of England Chief Economist Huw Pill in a speech on Booth’s London campus. "But the same lack of news gives me no reason to depart from the baseline that I already established."

Stocks can continue to outperform even if rates stay high, says Fundstrat’s Tom Lee
April 18, 2024 | CNBC: Power Lunch
Booth’s Raghuram Rajan discusses the Fed’s inflation dilemma and China’s economic recovery.

How an obscure chinese real estate start-up paved the way to TikTok
April 18, 2024 | The New York Times
Susquehanna International Group first invested in ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, over a decade ago. “Part of it is they saw something,” said Chicago Booth’s Steven Kaplan. “Part of it is they got lucky.”

China’s punishment for people with bad debts: no fast trains or nice hotels
April 17, 2024 | The Wall Street Journal
The prevalence of large personal debts is a problem for China’s leadership. “Household debt booms tend to lead to bad macroeconomic outcomes, even in the absence of a financial crisis,” says Chicago Booth’s Amir Sufi.

Private equity finds its next bet: college admissions
April 17, 2024 | CNN
Chicago Booth’s Constantine Yannelis shares his concerns about private equity firm’s involvement in college test prep companies. “I worry that profitability could come at the expense of students, and particularly students coming from lower income families.”

Welcome to pricing hell
April 16, 2024 | The Atlantic
Chicago Booth’s Jean-Pierre Dubé believes that most people would support dynamic pricing if only they understood it.

How to launch your business-to-consumer business this year
April 15, 2024 | Crain’s Chicago Business
Chicago Booth’s Mia Saini Duchnowski shares advice on how to launch a consumer products company in today's competitive and crowded product landscape. 

America’s flailing industrial policy can take lessons from China
April 11, 2024 | Foreign Policy
China scholars say the secret to China’s success isn’t just spending. “The secret sauce of China’s industrial policy is competition among local governments,” suggests Chicago Booth’s Chang-Tai Hsieh.

Acquiring a taste for business ownership
March/April 2024 | Ambition magazine
Interest in entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) is gathering pace, says Chicago Booth’s Brian O’Connor and Mark Agnew. (story begins on p. 42)

Consumers hate ‘price discrimination,’ but they sure love a discount
April 6, 2024 | The New York Times
Chicago Booth’s Jean-Pierre Dubé discusses the benefits of personalized pricing, and how both companies and consumers can come out ahead.

Talking politics with strangers isn’t as awful as you’d expect, research suggests
April 2, 2024 | psychologicalscience.org
People would find discussing their political differences to be a more positive experience than expected, at least partly because people fail to appreciate the extent to which conversations are informative and draw people closer together, per Chicago Booth’s Nicholas Epley and his co-researchers. 

The real Chicago Booth: debunking myths about the school
April 1, 2024 | Poets&Quants
“Perhaps where most applicants misjudge Booth is thinking that flexibility applies only to course selection, when in fact, it extends to the entire Booth experience: which student clubs you join, the teams you form, where you live, and so on,” says Kate Richardson, admissions consultant at mbaMission.

The top 100 business schools, ranked by research
March 29, 2024 | Poets&Quants
In a comparison of research conducted at top business schools, Chicago Booth is highlighted for having more than a dozen centers and initiatives, including the Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership, the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation, and the renowned Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which runs one of the premier startup accelerators in the world.

Democrats look for new ways to tax the super-rich
March 27, 2024 | The Washington Post
According to Chicago Booth’s Eric Zwick, much simpler changes to the tax code could raise revenue from rich people without forcing the IRS to estimate unrealized gains, including reducing the deduction for business income claimed on personal tax returns.

India making mistake believing ‘hype’ about growth, Rajan says
March 26, 2024 | Bloomberg
According to Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan, India is making a big mistake believing the hype around its strong economic growth, since there are significant structural problems that need to be fixed for the country to meet its potential.

What Taylor Swift’s new album, COVID-19 vaccines and the 2020 election say about patience
March 25, 2024 | Forbes
A new study from Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach and co-author finds that people tend to experience greater impatience at the end of their wait because their desire for closure increases.

New build-to-rent communities offer the space and feel of single-family housing without the hassle of home maintenance
March 23, 2024 | Chicago Tribune
Rising mortgage rates and fewer homes for sale have pushed prices to unaffordable levels for many prospective buyers, resulting in a growing demand for reasonably priced rental homes, said Chicago Booth’s Joseph Pagliari.

The world needs reminding—governments are not good at picking winners
March 21, 2024 | Financial Times
To break the vicious protectionist cycle, we need new rules of the game, advises Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan in a recent op-ed.

Accountability is the key to a sustainable workout habit
March 21, 2024 | The New York Times
If you’re more dedicated than your workout buddy, you can benefit from serving as a motivator and teacher for a less-experienced friend, said Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach.

Former Fed governor Randy Kroszner: expect rate cuts to begin in June or July
March 20, 2024 | CNBC: Money Movers
Booth’s Randall Kroszner discusses whether the market has the right expectations for cuts from the Federal Reserve this year.

60% of people who work multiple hourly jobs are women: ‘They will do what they have to do’
March 19, 2024 | CNBC.com
“When women are in the workforce, if they’re not getting commensurate pay and income, they will do what they have to do to supplement that, particularly in periods of inflation,” says Chicago Booth’s Amy Hilliard of the rise of females taking on multiple hourly jobs.

What are fintech companies and what are the challenges of fintech?
March 19, 2024 | BusinessBecause
Booth’s David K.A. Mordecai explains fintech innovation and discusses its challenges, including financial inclusion and equitable access in developing countries and emerging markets.

The ferocious U.S. pushback against new banking rules
March 19, 2024 | Financial Times
Chicago Booth’s Anil Kashyap says complexity “is a fair critique” of the new bank capital rules proposed by America’s regulators.

Do investing pros make smart buy and sell decisions?
March 18, 2024 | Financial Decoder
Chicago Booth’s Alex Imas discusses new research about the effects of heuristic thinking on institutional investors’ performance.

Fed will have to keep rates high for longer than markets anticipate, say economists
March 17, 2024 | Financial Times
An FT-Chicago Booth poll suggests the Federal Reserve will make two or fewer cuts this year, with the first between July and September.

Why credit card debt is so high right now
March 16, 2024 | TIME
“People adjusted to having lower levels of expenses,” says Chicago Booth’s Abigail Sussman of how COVID-19 reshaped the way we think about spending. “People may have adjusted to having more slack in their budgets.”

Do debit card round-up plans hurt consumer savings?
March 14, 2024 | Forbes
“If you can get people to save in ways that are not that noticeable, that’s great,” said Chicago Booth’s Abigail Sussman of debit card round-up plans. “The place where it is potentially problematic is if people use these methods to exclusion of other saving, and don’t pay attention to goals.”

Expect a slowdown from ‘screaming’ U.S. growth: Randall Kroszner
March 13, 2024 | Bloomberg TV
Chicago Booth’s Randall Kroszner doesn’t expect dramatic revisions to the Federal Reserve’s dot plot as he sees three interest rate cuts this year and a “hard-ish” landing for the U.S. economy.

Charting the future: executive education programs in finance
March 13, 2024 | Executive Courses
Chicago Booth’s new Global Advanced Finance Program offers corporate finance executives and senior investment professionals an interdisciplinary approach to financial leadership.

FCA urged to act in ‘Sexism in the City’ report
March 12, 2024 | The Banker
Research from Chicago Booth’s Alex Imas proposes a new approach to measuring discrimination, recognizing the limitations of traditional economic measures.

The market’s version of a ‘quickie’ divorce is getting more complex and costly
March 9, 2024 | CNBC.com
“We’re in a particularly hostile environment for deal-making when you are pursuing companies in your own industry,” Booth’s Laura Born says of new regulatory guidelines. “It’s all about the politics and the inability to get the deals across the finish line.”

SpaceX blasts off from Delaware courts. Other companies keep landing there.
March 7, 2024 | Washington Examiner
Booth’s Hal Weitzman weighs in on Elon Musk’s decision to pull SpaceX from Delaware’s corporate governance and reflects on the state’s corporate history.

Trump’s tax cut fueled investment but did not pay for itself, study finds
March 4, 2024 | The New York Times
According to research from Chicago Booth’s Erik Zwick and coauthors, President Trump’s 2017 corporate tax cuts show modest gains for workers and high cost to the federal debt.

Why AI could boost the economy faster than past technologies
March 4, 2024 | Axios
San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly spoke about the potential of generative AI at the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum, sponsored by Chicago Booth’s Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets.

Fed’s Waller: Upcoming balance sheet decisions have no bearing on monetary policy
March 1, 2024 | Reuters
Federal Reserve governor Chris Waller spoke about the central bank’s balance sheet at the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum, sponsored by Chicago Booth’s Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets.

Former Fed governor Randy Kroszner: Don’t expect a June rate cut to be ‘baked in the cake’
February 29, 2024 | CNBC: Squawk on the Street
Booth’s Randall Kroszner weighs in on the Fed’s possible rate path outlook after the release of January’s personal consumption expenditures price index.

I’ve studied thousands of people who are good at making small talk—here’s what they do differently
February 29, 2024 | CNBC.com
Booth’s Nicholas Epley suggests reframing questions to better connect with others: “It might seem hard to reframe questions in a way that’s vulnerable, but it’s actually pretty easy once you start looking for it.”

How America’s CHIPS Act hurts Taiwan
February 26, 2024 | Project Syndicate
Booth’s Chang-Tai Hsieh and coauthors believe that, although well intentioned, the U.S. CHIPS Act is likely to undercut Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturer, and leave the entire industry more vulnerable than it already is.

Author Charles Duhigg explores how and why some people are better at handling conversations
February 24, 2024 | CBS Saturday Morning
“We are fundamentally social beings,” says Booth’s Nicholas Epley in an interview with CBS about humanity’s propensity to communicate. “We are happier and healthier when we connect with others.” 
(Segment begins at 2:48.)

Top economist warns of ‘unintended consequences’ from a banking regulation that will touch every corner of the economy
February 21, 2024 | Fortune
Booth’s Randall Kroszner argues that Basel III Endgame, a proposal that would raise capital requirements for banks, would not only be costly for banks, but also have “unintended consequences” for U.S. consumers and businesses.

There’s only one way to fix air pollution now
February 21, 2024 | The Atlantic
Research from Chicago Booth’s Matt Notowidigdo and coauthors suggests that the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009—despite causing profound economic hardship—actually increased Americans’ life expectancy.

Crypto behavioral finance: Why do we tend to follow the herd?
February 21, 2024 | Forbes
“Humans are a social animal, so it makes sense that they frequently turn to others to learn about the world,” says Booth’s David Nussbaum. “By paying attention to what others say and do we can learn a lot about the right ways to behave.”

Why career change is an inside job
February 21, 2024 | Forbes
Research from Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach and Cornell’s Kaitlin Woolley suggests that people who are invited to embrace discomfort rather than avoid it experience increased motivation, leading them to build new skills and open themselves up to uncomfortable ideas.

People and places: February 2024
February 20, 2024 | AACSB Insights
Chicago Booth is launching a new Global Advanced Finance Program, a certificate program designed for corporate finance executives and senior investment professionals.

Bad property debt exceeds reserves at largest U.S. banks
February 19, 2024 | Financial Times
“At some point if high vacancy rates hold, these property owners are not going to be able to service their debts, and banks are going to foreclose,” Chicago Booth’s João Granja says of lower loan allowances for commercial real estate in the wake of the pandemic. 

Why humans hate to wait and what our impatience says about us
February 19, 2024 | Earth
Research from Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach, Alex Imas, and their coauthor suggests that people often prefer to exert more effort or pay more upfront to achieve closure sooner rather than wait.

How many U.S. Latter-day Saints are actually in church every week?
February 17, 2024 | The Salt Lake Tribune
Research from Chicago Booth’s Devin Pope suggests that while Latter-day Saints overclaim weekly church attendance, they do so less than most religions. “Almost surely we’re seeing some social desirability bias, where people want to claim that they are weekly attendees and they’re just not,” Pope said.

Low inflation doesn’t relieve pain of high prices
February 15, 2024 | NPR Marketplace
Price nostalgia is a “well-documented psychological phenomenon,” says Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach. “We remember the past being rosier, easier and cheaper than it was.”

Was Pfizer’s “Here’s to Science” commercial during the Super Bowl a winning play or a fumble?
February 12, 2024 | STAT
Booth’s Pradeep Chintagunta says that by focusing on cancer treatment, Pfizer’s Super Bowl ad is likely to resonate with many in the general public.

How to get back on track with your New Year’s resolutions
February 10, 2024 | NBC News
“Without any specifics, it’s hard to feel empowered by what you did or motivated by what you still need to do because you never quite set a number,” says Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach of broad New Year’s goals. “So set a resolution where you can know where you stand.”

The danger of forgetting the 2023 banking crisis
February 8, 2024 | Project Syndicate
Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan writes about the Fed’s intervention to rescue smaller banks in March 2023, and whether there should be an inquiry into the circumstances that caused the vulnerabilities.

‘Thank you’ matters: Why a stronger society starts with your bus driver
February 8, 2024 | The Christian Science Monitor
“We’re happier and healthier when we reach out and engage with other people. And yet in so many parts of daily life, we seem reluctant,” says Chicago Booth’s Nicholas Epley. “And that’s a real puzzle.”

Strong earnings, and Taylor Swift, add to Disney’s defenses
February 8, 2024 | The New York Times
Booth’s João Granja weighs in on regional lenders to the commercial real estate sector: “If the banks started calling back these loans because of missed payments, everything could start to spiral in a very negative way.”

How India gave the U.S. a generation of business school deans
February 6, 2024 | Financial Times
“For us, the U.S. was where you had to do a PhD,” Booth’s dean Madhav Rajan says about his academic experience. “It was very much a first generation thing.”

Nobel Prize winner in Economics Douglas Diamond: The U.S. banking industry is not resting easy and is not worried about a financial crisis in China
February 4, 2024 | 21st Century Business Herald
“The Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year depending on the degree of decline in inflation indicators,” says Chicago Booth’s Douglas Diamond. “Interest rates will be maintained at a relatively high level for a long time to adjust people’s inflation expectations.”

2023 Most Disruptive MBA Startups: inclusive+, University of Chicago (Booth)
February 4, 2024 | Poets & Quants
Booth alumnae Lori Ebenstein, ’23, and Anna Jacobs, ’23, share how professors Lindsey Lyman and Mark Tebbe contributed to the success of their healthcare startup inclusive+,  which improves health equity for LGBTQ+ patients.

What Walmart’s new focus on employee stock means for the labor market and average American household
February 3, 2024 | CNBC.com
Chicago Booth’s Stacey Kole weighs in on Walmart’s new compensation bonus for managers that’s up to 200% of their base salary: “It’s not just other retailers that have to worry about this. It’s anyone who has personnel that can run really complex organizations.”

Elon Musk hates Delaware now. Here’s why millions of businesses love it
February 1, 2024 | Fortune
Delaware’s lenient tax structure has “contributed to a collapse in state corporate income tax revenues over the past five decades,” says Chicago Booth’s Hal Weitzman.

Crypto was started to address a collapse of trust. Can it be trusted?
February 1, 2024 | The Christian Science Monitor
While Booth’s Eric Budish doesn’t think cryptocurrency is a viable economic solution at a global scale, he says “there’s a lot of scope for innovation and how to marry some of the intellectual ideas that have been bubbling up with crypto to traditional sources of trust.”

Who’s afraid of our $34 trillion national debt?
January 30, 2024 | NPR Marketplace
“When debt gets this high, it can alarm investors,” says Booth’s Raghuram Rajan of the $34 trillion the U.S. government owes its creditors. “Eventually, you rack up huge debts and nobody trusts you anymore.”

The promises and problems of buying local
January 29, 2024 | The New York Times
“I think we should let people choose what they want,” says Booth’s Chang-Tai Hsieh on whether consumers should buy from local businesses or national chains. “If things are really better, I think it would be really dangerous for someone to say, ‘You cannot make that choice.’”

The Nobel Prize winner predicts that the United States will cut interest rates two or three times in the second half of the year, a total of 0.5%, and Hong Kong will usher in a period of stability.
January 29, 2024 | Hong Kong Economic Journal
In an interview during the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong, Booth’s Douglas Diamond said that the Federal Reserve was a little behind in raising interest rates to curb inflation, so the interest rate cuts might be slower than the market expected.

2023 Most Disruptive MBA Startups: Zelia, University of Chicago (Booth)
January 29, 2024 | Poets & Quants
Current student Laura Mattos describes how her experience at Booth—especially guidance from professor Mark Tebbe—contributed to the success of her startup Zelia, an AI-powered fashion app.

From “Hot Ones” to “Chicken Shop Date,” the best celebrity interviews take place over chicken
January 29, 2024 | Salon
“Food is about bringing something into the body. And to eat the same food suggests that we are both willing to bring the same thing into our bodies,” says Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach. “People just feel closer to people who are eating the same food as they do.”

Make economic growth inclusive and focus on designing products than just assembling them: Raghuram Rajan
January 28, 2024 | The Telegraph India
“For India to be the future, let us recognise the strength our democracy gives. Because it allows the creativity, the discussion and ebullience that we need to become a truly innovative nation. We need that to become a developed nation by 2047,” Booth’s Raghuram Rajan said during a discussion of his new book, Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India’s Economic Future.

Fed’s inflation battle hinges on convincing Americans price hikes are done
January 28, 2024 | Bloomberg
Chicago Booth’s Michael Weber says “price nostalgia” is driving the current consumer mindset on inflation.

How bosses can stop the ‘meeting after the meeting’
January 25, 2024 | The Wall Street Journal
Booth’s Susan Lucia Annunzio provides tips for how leaders can empower employees to express dissenting opinions in formal meetings.

Exec Ed Roundup: Chicago Booth announces new Global Advanced Finance certificate
January 25, 2024 | Poets & Quants for Executives
Chicago Booth is creating a new certificate program in Global Advanced Finance, designed for corporate finance executives, senior investment professionals and strategic decision-makers. The program confers alumni status upon completion.

Will politics or economics win out in 2024?
January 25, 2024 | Financial Times
Booth’s Elisa Rubbo has developed a “Divine Coincidence index” that tracks supply shocks alongside demand swings in inflation forecasts to better model current economic realities.

Nobel Laureate in Economics Douglas Diamond optimistic that world will not experience a financial crisis soon
January 25, 2024 | Hong Kong Economic Times
Booth’s Douglas Diamond is optimistic that a financial crisis will not break out soon. However, when geo-economic fragmentation intensifies, he says the efficiency of the world economy will decline.

The U.S. seems to be dodging a recession. What could go wrong?
January 20, 2024 | The New York Times
“Despite the strong demand, we’ve still had inflation coming down,” says Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan. “The question now is, going forward, are we going to be so lucky?”

Econ battle zone: Disinflation confrontation
January 19, 2024 | NPR: Planet Money
Booth’s Luigi Zingales serves as a guest judge on the radio program Planet Money’s Econ Battle Zone challenge.

10 business schools to watch in 2024
January 15, 2024 | Poets & Quants
Chicago Booth is featured as one of 10 business schools to watch in 2024, with its launch of both the Master in Management Program and the Master in Finance Program.

$88 trillion in debt and a wave of elections. World leaders are hamstrung
January 14, 2024 | CNN
“One of the key elements sustaining a country’s credibility on its ability to repay (debt) is political consensus,” says Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan.

This year, I’m doing less—it’s a ‘great idea for a New Year’s resolution,’ expert says
January 13, 2024 | CNBC
“Our tendency as humans when we think about improving something is adding,” says Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach. In fact, “often the improvement is by removing things.”

Lugging credit card debt into 2024? Now’s the time to make a plan
January 12, 2024 | The New York Times
Paying down card debt is “a really hard thing to do,” says Chicago Booth PhD student Benedict Guttman-Kenney. “There’s no simple fix.”

Best savings accounts for college students
January 11, 2024 | Credit Donkey
Students who want to save money to pay off student loans “can enroll in income-driven repayment programs,” suggests Chicago Booth’s Constantine Yannelis. “If borrowers have lower incomes, they can make lower or even no payments.”

Shorter everything: Why the MiM is going global
January 11, 2024 | AACSB
With an increased global interest in Master in Management programs, some leading American schools, including Chicago Booth, are adding MiMs to their offerings.

2 weeks into 2024, some people have given up on their New Year's resolutions
January 11, 2024 | NPR Morning Edition
“Most people will give up on their resolutions or their attention will just be on something else, and they will no longer even think about their resolutions,” says Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach.

Dining out? Check the bill for a 'health insurance' surcharge
January 10, 2024 | MedPage Today
“The risky part about that strategy is that every once in a while some consumer does notice, and they get really upset,” says Booth’s Matthew Notowidigdo of a 4 percent surcharge at an Atlanta restaurant to cover employees’ healthcare costs.

Markets overpricing March interest rate cut, former Fed governor Kroszner says
January 10, 2024 | Bloomberg
Chicago Booth’s Randall Kroszner says that it’s too early to predict the central bank will cut interest rates in March—as many investors and economists expect—as the labor market remains strong.

Chicago Booth MBA Class of 2023 employment report: higher median salaries & high consulting placement
January 10, 2024 | Clear Admit
The MBA Class of 2023 at Chicago Booth received a median salary of $180,000, a 5 percent increase from last year’s class, and a high consulting placement of 38.6 percent.

Why did some companies repay PPP loans that could have been forgiven?
January 10, 2024 | NPR Morning Edition
Chicago Booth’s Eric Zwick weighs in on the impact that small businesses make by repaying the loans they received from the government's Paycheck Protection Program during COVID.
 (Interview starts at 3:22.)

In charts: how India has changed under Narendra Modi
January 8, 2024 | Financial Times
“Growth has been good, but it has to be set in perspective,” says Chicago Booth’s Raghuram Rajan of India’s growth rate in recent years.

MoviePass gets a second chance—and moviegoing does too
January 7, 2024 | Fast Company
Booth’s Avner Strulov-Shlain explains that gyms use subscription models because gym owners “follow the logic that we have our consumers, they’re going to be inattentive, or we’re going to make it very hard to cancel.”

Fed to 'wait a while' on cuts after jobs data: Kroszner
January 5, 2024 | Bloomberg Surveillance
Chicago Booth’s Randall Kroszner says the Fed will “be waiting a while” before cutting rates because the labor market and wage growth are still strong.

University of Chicago announces Master of Finance degree
January 4, 2024 | Best Colleges
“The option to take courses that delve deep into topics such as A.I., machine learning, big data, blockchain technology, fintech…will give students an advantage in the market after they graduate,” says Booth’s Ralph Koijen of the school’s new Master in Finance program. 

Tips to help you keep your New Year’s resolution
January 3, 2023 | WGN Radio
Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach discusses why staying on track with your goals matters and offers seven tips to help you keep your New Year’s resolutions.

Illinois skirted a recession last year. Here’s what to know about the job market in 2024.
January 2, 2024 | Chicago Tribune
Chicago Booth's Matthew Notowidigdo weighs in on the Illinois labor market and why he hopes to see the state adding more jobs.