Brown University Department of Economics

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Brown University Department of Economics The Brown Economics Department is the largest concentration at Brown, with over 700 concentrators.

The strength of choice and the ideas behind those choices leads to the foundation of what runs global economics systems. In the Department of Economics at Brown University, students study and research topics as varied as land, labor, investments of income, money, production, taxes and government spending in order to grasp how governments, corporations and people make choices, particularly when faced with limited resources. The Department aims to give graduating students a thorough map for navigating the world’s complex economics issues and equip them with the necessary tools for developing creative solutions to the markets demands. Students will study with internationally and nationally recognized Faculty within the field, including several Fellows of the Econometric Society, several Sloan Fellows, several Guggenheim Fellows, several recipients of prestigious prizes and awards, the editor of the Journal of Economic Growth, the editor of the Journal of Financial Intermediation, a past editor of the American Economic Review, and several associates and fellows of the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Center for Economic Policy Research. Students will also have the opportunity to collaborate with the Brown Population Studies and Training Center, and participate in workshops with faculty, graduate students, and visiting scholars to discuss current research. Additionally, students will have access to a diverse range of resources including library and computer facilities.

We are thrilled to share that Elisa Macchi, August Family Assistant Professor of Economics, published an article with Je...
10/08/2026

We are thrilled to share that Elisa Macchi, August Family Assistant Professor of Economics, published an article with Jeremia Stalder
Ph.D. Candidate in Economics, University of St. Gallen, on VoxDex entitled “Work over cash: Why employers and workers prefer jobs to handouts.” Macchi’s research focuses on the intersection of development economics and behavioral economics. The article focuses on experiments in Uganda that reveal employers and workers prefer to share income through paid work rather than cash, even when the work produces nothing, suggesting that some overstaffing reflects social support rather than inefficiency. Read the full article here: https://voxdev.org/topic/labour-markets/work-over-cash-why-employers-and-workers-prefer-jobs-handouts

This past Friday, the 2026 Political Economy Conference was held at Brown University. This annual event was organized an...
10/06/2026

This past Friday, the 2026 Political Economy Conference was held at Brown University. This annual event was organized and moderated by Brian Knight, Brown University, and Gemma Dipoppa, Columbia University. Guest speakers included Barbara Biasi, Rob Blair, Jacob Brown, Jacob Conway, Rafaela Dancygier, Donia Kamel, Jesse Shapiro and Lina Skoglund. The Economics Department would like to thank The Orlando Bravo Center for Economic Research and The Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics for sponsoring this synergistic, thought provoking event.

Welcome to all of our new undergrads and grad students, and welcome back to all of our returning students! We’re so exci...
09/10/2026

Welcome to all of our new undergrads and grad students, and welcome back to all of our returning students! We’re so excited to have you here and are looking forward to a great semester!

We invite the Brown community and our friends around the world to join together in observing a moment of silence to mark...
06/15/2026

We invite the Brown community and our friends around the world to join together in observing a moment of silence to mark six months since the shooting that occurred on our campus on December 13, 2025.

We acknowledge the void left by the two members of the Brown family we lost, and the pain that our entire community has carried since that day. We recognize our community’s grief and its resilience, and the continued healing that is part of our shared experience.

International Monetary Fund featured Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan on this month's F&D for her work analyzing why, after decades ...
06/04/2026

International Monetary Fund featured Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan on this month's F&D for her work analyzing why, after decades of globalization, capital doesn’t always flow freely across international borders in search of the highest returns and what this means for economic development and financial stability. Her focus on microdata has helped to unravel some economic mysteries. Read the full article:

Chris Wellisz profiles Brown’s Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan, who mines business-level data to explain global capital flows

This past Sunday, 431 undergraduate and 12 Ph.D. students received economics degrees at the Brown University Commencemen...
05/27/2026

This past Sunday, 431 undergraduate and 12 Ph.D. students received economics degrees at the Brown University Commencement. Congratulations and best wishes to all of our graduates! A special thank you to our student speaker, Maria Claudia Gurjão Bonaparte, Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Brian Knight and to Kareen Rozen, Chair of the Department of Economics. Thank you to the students, staff and faculty who helped to make our commencement ceremony so wonderful.

The Economics Department is thrilled to announce that Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcanto is the recipient of the Review of Economic ...
05/21/2026

The Economics Department is thrilled to announce that Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcanto is the recipient of the Review of Economic Studies' Excellence in Refereeing Award. She was selected for her contribution in providing the journal with multiple timely, constructive and insightful referee reports over the past year. Congratulations!

05/19/2026

The Economics Department is excited to announce that we will be welcoming three new faculty members this upcoming academic year. Pablo Ottonello and Fabrizio Perri will be joining the Economics Department and the Watson School as Professors of Economics, and Paula Donaldson will be joining the department as an Assistant Professor.

We are thrilled to welcome them to Brown and look forward to having them join our community!

Orlando Bravo ’92 has made a $12M gift through the Bravo Family Foundation to support the Economics Department and the W...
05/01/2026

Orlando Bravo ’92 has made a $12M gift through the Bravo Family Foundation to support the Economics Department and the Watson School International and Public Affair, funding two endowed professorships and advancing research in economics and policy.

A $12 million gift from the Bravo Family Foundation, founded by Brown University alumnus Orlando Bravo, will bolster research, teaching in the Department of Economics and Watson School of International and Public Affairs.

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64 Waterman Street
Providence, RI
02912

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