Becker Friedman Institute

What Becker Friedman Institute does

The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) is a nonprofit academic research institute housed at the University of Chicago that serves as the centralized coordination and dissemination hub for the university's economics community. It unites researchers, faculty, and fellows from three founding UChicago units — the Booth School of Business, the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, and the Harris School of Public Policy — and is named after Nobel Laureates Gary Becker and Milton Friedman. The institute's core product is a multi-channel research dissemination platform comprising a working paper series, research briefs, the BFI Data Studio (an interactive data visualization site), two podcast series (The Pie and Pandemic Economics), a weekly newsletter, and a portfolio of more than 20 specialized research initiatives, programs, and centers spanning areas such as health economics, industrial organization, macroeconomics, price theory, public economics, labor markets, and socioeconomic inequalities.

The institute also operates global and regional extensions — BFI-China, BFI-Latin America, and the affiliated Tata Centre for Development (India) — and runs talent-pipeline programs including the Predoctoral Research in Economics Program (PREP) and the Expanding Discovery in Economics+ (EDE+) summer institute. It co-hosts recurring academic conferences, notably the annual Conference on the Economics of Crime and Justice with the London School of Economics and the multi-institutional Institutions, Organizations, and Growth (IOG) Program with Stanford University. BFI does not sell products or services; all research outputs and most events are freely accessible. The institute is funded through University of Chicago support, endowed and donor contributions (e.g., the Saieh-named facilities and fellowships), and external research grants, operating as an integral internal unit of the university with no independent legal ownership or external investors.

Name

Becker Friedman Institute

Legal name

Becker Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago

Website

https://bfi.uchicago.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics is a nonprofit academic research hub at the University of Chicago that coordinates and disseminates economics research across Booth, the Economics Department, and Harris School, producing working papers, podcasts, and data visualizations for a global scholarly and policy audience.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Economics Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary) (EDAHABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

International & Global Research Universities (Multi-Campus/International Footprint) (EDAHABAI), Management Research Institutes & Doctoral (PhD/DBA) Programs (EDAHAHAO), University-Affiliated Pathway & Foundation Programs (EDAIAJAA), STEM & Engineering Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAA)

Keywords

• Economics research institute
• Academic research coordination
• Working paper series
• Policy economics research
• Predoctoral economics training

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. University Funding and Research Grants: The institute operates as part of the University of Chicago, funded through university support and potentially external research grants and donations. The Saieh Hall for Economics and various named initiatives suggest donor-funded operations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

BFI serves as the central research coordination and dissemination hub for the University of Chicago economics community, uniting researchers from Booth School of Business, Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, and Harris School of Public Policy. It produces and distributes economics research through working papers, research briefs, podcasts, an interactive data visualization platform, and academic conferences. The institute also runs pre-doctoral training programs (PREP and EDE+) and maintains global research centers in China and Latin America.

Product overview

The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics is a research hub at the University of Chicago that serves as a central platform for economics research and analysis. The institute offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services including the BFI Working Paper Series for disseminating current research, Research Briefs for concise economic commentary, the BFI Data Studio for interactive data visualizations, and two podcast series (The Pie and Pandemic Economics) featuring conversations with UChicago economists. Additional offerings include the Weekly Briefing Newsletter for research updates, specialized Research Initiatives and Programs covering diverse economic topics, Academic Conferences and Events for scholarly exchange, and educational programs like the Predoctoral Research in Economics Program (PREP) and Expanding Discovery in Economics+ (EDE+) for training future economists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Pie: UChicago Economics Podcast: A podcast featuring conversations with UChicago economists about their research and key events of the day.
• Pandemic Economics Podcast
• BFI Working Paper Series
• BFI Data Studio

Products and services

• BFI Working Paper Series

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and regional.

• London School of Economics (LSE)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026BFI and LSE co-host the annual Conference on the Economics of Crime and Justice, the 7th edition of which was held in May 2026. This partnership represents a flagship collaborative academic initiative alternating between Chicago and London, bringing together scholars from around the world to discuss recent work on economics of crime and criminal justice systems.
• Stanford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Institutions, Organizations, and Growth (IOG) Program is a partnership between BFI at University of Chicago and Stanford University. The program convenes leading scholars three times annually for research conferences and academic exchange, with upcoming conferences scheduled at Stanford (June 2026), Chicago (October 2026, April 2027), and Paris (June 2027).
• University of Chicago Booth School of BusinesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBFI serves as a hub for the entire UChicago economics community, with Booth School of Business being one of three founding schools (alongside the Economics Department and Harris School). Booth faculty members contribute research, serve as organizers for initiatives, and participate in BFI programs.
• Kenneth C. Griffin Department of EconomicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics is one of three founding schools constituting the BFI hub. Economics department faculty are central contributors to BFI research initiatives and programs.
• Harris School of Public PolicycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarris School of Public Policy is one of three founding schools at the core of BFI's institutional structure. Faculty from Harris contribute to BFI research and initiatives, particularly those focused on policy applications.
• BFI-ChinaregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerBFI-China is a global initiative extending BFI's research coordination to China, fostering economic research collaboration and engagement with Chinese scholars and institutions.
• BFI-Latin AmericaregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerBFI-Latin America is a regional initiative focusing on economic research collaboration with Latin American scholars and institutions, part of BFI's global outreach strategy.
• Tata Centre for DevelopmentregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerTata Centre for Development at UChicago is affiliated with BFI, focusing on development economics research and initiatives in partnership with India.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER): NBER is a private, non-profit research organization that organizes working groups, working papers, and conferences across economics — directly comparable to BFI's working-paper series and initiative-based research coordination. Both serve as convening hubs for elite academic economists.
• Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR): A pan-European network organizing research programs, working papers, and conferences in economics — comparable to BFI's role as a hub coordinating economists and disseminating research through programs and events.
• Stanford Institute for Theoretical Economics (SITE): Stanford's economics research institute running workshops, conferences, and summer programs — directly comparable to BFI's academic convening function and partnership-driven event programming.
• London School of Economics — Economics Department: BFI's established flagship partner on the Conference on the Economics of Crime and Justice; LSE's economics department runs analogous working-paper, convening, and pre-doctoral programs with comparable international footprint.
• Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics (Yale): A university-based economics research foundation that produces working papers, hosts conferences, and runs research programs — closely analogous to BFI's structure as a research-coordination unit within a top research university.

Broad incumbents

• Peterson Institute for International Economics: A leading international-economics research institute producing working papers, policy briefs, books, and convenings — comparable to BFI in research dissemination and policy engagement, with a narrower international-economics focus.
• MIT Department of Economics: A leading economics department running its own working-paper series, seminars, and pre-doctoral pipelines — a competing hub to BFI for top talent, working-paper visibility, and academic convening.
• Brookings Institution — Economic Studies: A larger think tank with an Economic Studies program producing research, briefs, and events for policymakers and the public — analogous to BFI's policy-oriented dissemination and convening functions at a broader scale.
• Hoover Institution (Stanford): A larger, established policy-research institution at Stanford producing working papers, briefs, podcasts, and events. Broader in scope than BFI but operationally analogous in convening and disseminating economic and policy research.

Emerging players

• Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS): A specialized economics research institute producing working papers, briefs, and events focused on public economics and labor markets — overlapping with several BFI initiatives (Public Economics, Labor Markets) but narrower in scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/beckerfriedman
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BFIVideos
• Facebookfacebook.com/beckerfriedman
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/becker-friedman-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Becker Friedman Institute