Eric Verhoogen

This video short, from Jan 2025, has aged pretty well. Even if a deal with Canada is reached, the uncertainty that the tariff threats create is a real problem.

This is probably the leading conference in the "firms and development" space. Hope to see many of you there.

Call for papers! 4th New Thinking in Industrial Policy Conference @columbiauniversity.bsky.social, Nov. 6, 2026. Conference page: cdep.sipa.columbia.edu/content/new-.... Submit here (deadline Sept. 14): docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F....

Two days in, 2,671 development economists from 126 countries have joined @ideadevecon.bsky.social! @owenozier.bsky.social lays out why development economics needed a global home. Now on the @cgdev.org blog. Read it, then add your name: idea.devecon.org 🌍 www.cgdev.org/blog/introdu...

How many dev papers are RCTs, really? Years ago I did a relatively small-sample manual coding exercise; now with the aid of Claude code, I pulled published dev papers in top general-interest journals + JDE 2020-2025. The punchline: about 30% + stable #econtwitter #econsky

In what world is it okay for the Defense Secretary to make multi-million dollar investments in defense companies: a) Ever; b) In the run-up to starting a war in the Middle East FT has the scoop: www.ft.com/content/744e... In a functional democracy, he would offer his resignation tonight.

A nice @nber.org Digest summary of our findings on the employment impacts of the CHIPS Act is here: www.nber.org/digest?page=... Pdf of the print version here: www.nber.org/sites/defaul... @columbiasipa.bsky.social interview about the project here: www.sipa.columbia.edu/news/new-sip...

Video of my talk about this chapter at the STEG 2026 Conference in Nairobi is here (from 1:56.00 to 2:52.30): www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEDi... I also discuss my new paper with Ritam Chaurey, Gaurav Nayyar, and Siddharth Sharma on learning spillovers in Bangladesh: www.columbia.edu/%7Eev2124/re...

At @columbiasipa.bsky.social , we are hiring a Professor of Practice in Development Economics. JOE listing: www.aeaweb.org/joe/listing..... We're looking for people with both research and policy experience. Feel free to reach out via DM or email (eric.verhoogen@columbia.edu) with questions.

Learning spillovers between firms are widely seen as important but are hard to estimate cleanly. We ran an experiment with energy-efficient motors in the Dhaka leather-goods sector. Links to non-technical summary and video below. With Ritam Chaurey, Gaurav Nayyar, and Siddharth Sharma.

📣📆 We are happy to announce our 2-day Summer school on Organizations in Developing Countries that will take place on June 24-25th. We will welcome two great keynotes: Manuel GARCÍA-SANTANA (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) and @ericverhoogen.bsky.social (Columbia University).

In today's blog, I discuss how countries can use sector-targeted skills development for industrial policy. This involves training workers in specific areas desired by industries you are targeting to develop. I give examples, caveats, lessons & note research gaps blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...

"This chapter takes stock of what has been learned from the recent micro-development literature about wedges." NEW in @nber.org by Lauren F. Bergquist, @ldaniall.bsky.social, and @ericverhoogen.bsky.social: nber.org/papers/w34756

New paper!

🆕 RFBerlin Discussion Paper! Lauren Falcao Bergquist, Danial Lashkari & @ericverhoogen.bsky.social analyze how microeconomic frictions and wedges distort resource allocation, with implications for productivity and economic efficiency. 🔗 www.rfberlin.com/wp-content/u...

📢 New free virtual course (PEDL x STEG) Private Enterprises, Productivity, and Economic Growth - starting 6 Feb 2026 When: Fridays, 15:30–17:00 (London time) Format: Virtual + recordings available 🔗 More info: grp.cepr.org/node/231 📝 Register here: cepr.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?...

Shedding early light on the effects of the CHIPS and Science Act on short-term employment, from Bilge Erten, Joseph E. Stiglitz, and @ericverhoogen.bsky.social www.nber.org/papers/w34625

🆕 RFBerlin Discussion Paper! @bilgeerten.bsky.social, @josephestiglitz.bsky.social & @ericverhoogen.bsky.social analyze the employment impacts of the CHIPS Act, examining how industrial policy shapes job creation and labor-market adjustment. 🔗 www.rfberlin.com/wp-content/u...

Studying whether returns to quality upgrading get passed through to primary agricultural producers finds that in Colombian coffee, the answer is mostly no, but sometimes yes, from Macchiavello, Miquel-Florensa, de Roux, @ericverhoogen.bsky.social, Bernasconi, and Farrell www.nber.org/papers/w34610

A quick (2 minute) video explainer of the main results of our Brookings paper on the employment effects of the CHIPS Act is here: www.youtube.com/shorts/BUY8g...

US Industrial policy underwent a revival under Biden. What have the effects been? @bilgeerten.bsky.social, @josephestiglitz.bsky.social , and I have a new @brookings.edu paper on employment effects of the CHIPS Act. We sat with @markmuro1.bsky.social to discuss. www.brookings.edu/articles/has...

Looking forward to the @theigc.bsky.social / @yaleegc.bsky.social Firms/Trade/Development conference tomorrow and Saturday! Conference page is here: egc.yale.edu/events/2025/.... There's a virtual option.

Knowledge spillovers are key to growth but hard to estimate. Randomly giving out energy-efficient motors to leather-goods firms in Bangladesh led to strong local spillovers, from Ritam Chaurey, Gaurav Nayyar, Siddharth Sharma, and @ericverhoogen.bsky.social https://www.nber.org/papers/w34296

Submission deadline for the Columbia New Thinking in Industrial Policy Conference is this Friday, Sept. 12, 11:59pm ET. Congressman Ro Khanna (@khanna.house.gov) will be the keynote speaker. Send us your papers!

Submission deadline is this Sunday.

Submission deadline for this PEDL young scholars workshop (to take place the day before the Oct 24-25 @theigc.bsky.social/@yaleegc.bsky.social ‬Firms/Trade/Development conference) is Sept 7 (soon!). For researchers post-PhD but untenured (or <=8 years out). Hope to see many of you there.

Call for papers! 3rd New Thinking in Industrial Policy Conference ‪at Columbia, Nov. 6-7, 2025. Submit here by Sept. 12: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F.... Conf page: cdep.sipa.columbia.edu/content/new-.... Hosts: ‪@ipdcolumbia.bsky.social‬, @cdepcolumbia.bsky.social, ‪@columbiaigp.bsky.social‬, CPE.

Check out our conversation with Eric Verhoogen @ericverhoogen.bsky.social, who visited us this past year. Hear about his path from union organizer to development economist, how to optimally tile pentagons when making soccer balls, and more rpde.princeton.edu/news/2025/co...

A randomized evaluation of matching grants to promote exports in Tunisia finds large effects on exports, but mainly of existing products to existing destinations, from Nadia Ali, Giacomo De Giorgi, Aminur Rahman, and @ericverhoogen.bsky.social https://www.nber.org/papers/w33985

New paper! RCT on subsidies for fixed market-access costs in Tunisia. Big effects on exports (for existing destinations/products) but not # of destinations/products, in contrast to policy goals and some workhorse trade models. w/ Nadia Ali, Giacomo De Giorgi, Aminur Rahman www.nber.org/papers/w33985

Economists well represented at a vigil for recent @columbiasipa.bsky.social‬ student Mahmoud Khalil at ‪@columbiauniversity.bsky.social yesterday.

Tomorrow 10am ET/4pm CEST, open to all.

Call for papers: @theigc.bsky.social/@yaleegc.bsky.social conference on Firms/Trade/Development, Oct. 24-25, 2025. The leading conference in the firms & development space! Early decision deadline (to accommodate visa processing): May 30. General submission deadline: July 18.

Attention: Every single university president

Looking forward to this virtual seminar! Registration open to all.

Stanford’s president and provost release a statement supporting Harvard. stanforddaily.com/2025/04/15/l...

Backing the truck holding all Americans' private info up to the dock for pillaging...

RIGHT NOW: Columbia physicians, nurses, researchers, & faculty are calling on the Board of Trustees to resist the Trump admin’s assault on students, research, teaching, and patients. @cuimcstandsup.bsky.social @aaupcu.bsky.social

Harvard stands up Letter to the Harvard community from President Garber

Same.

Plenty of complaints about Harvard over the years, but a proud Harvard alum today. wapo.st/4cH9vy3