John A. List

I finally have a publication date for my new Experimental Economics textbook: December 12. Equally as important, I am proud to have negotiated a low price for the book: $38.10...for a nearly 800 page book! You can find the book here: amazon.com/Experimental-E…

MLB players are 7.1% more likely to be drafted by a particular team if they live 1k km closer to the scouting director & are 4.9% more likely to be drafted if they live 1k km closer to the team's home city. @UChi_Economics' @Econ_4_Everyone & coauthors. ow.ly/vzMB50S2bqo

A few lines for me: Glory days Well, they'll pass you by, glory days In the wink of a young girl's eye, glory days

Thanks so much for the emails and DMs about the special science of scaling issue that we will announce soon for the JPE-Micro. Many of you asked about my statement on scaling as an object of study rather than merely a policy objective. I would start with this study and the…

There will be a neat special issue announcement coming soon at the JPE-Micro! A hint on the topic is below. When I first started working on scaling I found the concept disturbingly vague. That is because it bundled many different concepts that need to be understood before we…

I’m grateful to @axios for tackling this topic and allowing me to weigh in. We need to be extremely intentional about the tech we introduce to young children, whose brains are at risk of being wired away from the relationships so central to our humanity. axios.com/2025/07/21/ai-…

Tomorrow I will give a lecture on a study that I completed.....back in 1993. That is not a typo! I will give a lecture on survey methods and my point will be that we should go "back to the future" to build on the healthy progress of today. I last presented this study back in…

Research by Houser et al finds parents are… •most likely to cheat when they’re acting alone and their child is the beneficiary •less likely to cheat in the presence of a daughter than in the presence of a son buff.ly/5aLRqJ9 via coauthor @econ_4_everyone

Our new study just came out in @JEEA_News. We conducted a natural field experiment to measure the value of flexible work schedules. We combine the experiment with panel data on wages and work decisions to estimate a dynamic labor supply model that allows recovery of reservation…

I was just in a convenience store and one of my past papers played out before my very eyes! A man had two children in the store with him, one girl one boy. When the boy was with him and the girl was off on her own, the man liberally stuffed items into his coat. When the girl…

What makes an Editor's life hard? Opening your Editorial in-box and finding these two recommendations. This is on a first round submission, where hardly anyone ever recommends accept. And, to make it even harder: both reporters are thoughtful, open-minded, and quite wise.…

A great choice! Congrats @NeilShubin!

Our @UChicago PhD students just finished what is likely the most grueling 7 days of their lives: 3 PhD core exams (micro, macro, econometrics) in 7 days! Perhaps the academic version of "Hell Week" for the SEALs. Some universities have moved away from PhD core exams. I decided…

Relative to a white driver traveling the same speed, minorities are 24 -33% more likely to be stopped for speeding and to pay 23-34% more in fines. Research @UChi_Economics' @Econ_4_Everyone, @pradhiaggarwal, @7hoenix, @_ThomasYu & co-authors: ow.ly/hVgO50Qxk7t

In a meeting I was just asked "what is the most robust behavioral result you have witnessed"? My response? Inattention. In a recent study I explore how field experiments in economics complement psychological research on judgment biases. I discuss the remarkable level of…

Last day of teaching @Harvard! I will end with social and environmental economics. A key discussion point will be around the economics of generosity. This will combine many strands of the literature including field experiments in charitable giving. The basic question in this…

Algorithmic Harm. @statsArePower @dilipsoman @Econ_4_Everyone @BarackObama amazon.com/Algorithmic-Ha…

I just finished an interview on scaling and the interviewer challenged me to "put scaling in a sports analogy so our non-technical listeners can understand your research and its origins". My response? It’s like hitting a home run in the minors and striking out in the majors. I…