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: www.amazon.com/Experimental...

It’s that time of year.  Woke up to 3 emails that are all promising to “TRIPLE MATCH” my donation before the midterms.  They URGENTLY need my help!  What they urgently need is an economist, or at least to run the field experiment/read the literature! ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura...

In the current issue: ‘Research Registries and the Credibility Crisis: An Empirical and Theoretical Investigation’ by Eliot Abrams, Jonathan Libgober, John A List doi.org/10.1093/ej/ueaf120 @jlibdoesecon.bsky.social @johnlist.bsky.social @resmedia.bsky.social #EconSky

Some green shoots for our PhD market in economics! But, under the hood there is lots of heterogeneity! Adjust on both margins like we find optimizing candidates did their search years ago: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura...

Our new study, “Research Registries and the Credibility Crisis: An Empirical and Theoretical Investigation” has just been printed by the Economic Journal! Bottom line: we can do better! Are other sciences doing better? No. You can find a downloadable copy here: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/artefa...

Today is the day! My daughter Genevieve will marry David here in the wonderful Mexico City. That means the last of the Econ-Jeopardy "I do" series is here (and indeed a hard one for the $400 category!)

As a grad student i studied urban economics and I can say that the enchanting Mexico City is a master class in agglomeration. 22 million people, entrepreneurs throughout, and price discovery on every street corner. This great city is glorious. Now to the Econ-Jeopardy for today, a tricky one!

The big day is approaching here in Mexico City! And, I must say that the ring David Dworsky gave to my daughter Genevieve Liu is beyond amazing. It motivates my next Econ-Jeopardy!

This week is a special one for our family. My daughter, Genevieve Liu, is getting married in Mexico City! I just arrived today so why not start with some fun economics trivia!

Because I truly believe economics is for everyone and many of us have fun with trivia, I will post some Economic-Jeopardy style questions every once in a while. Here is the first one, from my "famous economists" column:

www.nber.org/papers/w35544 I enjoy this sassy abstract from @johnlist.bsky.social. I wonder how well the number of enrollment invites each subject receives prior to enrolling would work as IVs in lieu of incentives, a la Behaghel et al (2015) or my working paper arxiv.org/abs/2404.17693.

How valuable are behavioral policies compared with traditional price incentives? New research from @johnlist.bsky.social, Matthias Rodemeier, Sutanuka Roy & Gregory K. Sun finds that nudges can generate demand responses comparable to substantial price interventions.

Is the greater ethical risk running a carefully designed natural field experiment, or scaling a policy on evidence we intellectually know will not generalize? That is one of the questions I take on in this new @nature.com paper: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura...

Thanks so much for highlighting @koenfucius.bsky.social!

Thanks so much @clintent-to-treat.bsky.social! And, your working paper is fascinating!

Just boarded a flight to attend the ESA meetings. The best part of these types of trips is learning from all the brilliant scholars. I will present a new study titled: “Don’t give up on the lab: why the field still needs lab experiments.” ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura... See everyone tomorrow!

Thanks so much for your generous review of my new book @dmckenzie.bsky.social. The book was truly a labor of love and to have someone of David's ilk find it useful makes me beyond happy!

I just released a new working paper! “Don’t Give Up on Lab Experiments: Why the Field Still Needs the Lab” Available here: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura...

You warm my heart @climent.bsky.social!

Excited to be on an ESA panel about the future of experimental economics at the meetings this July in LA. Even creating a new paper for the occasion! "Don't Give Up on Lab Experiments: The Deep Complementarity of Lab and Field Experiments." Hope to see you in LA: sites.google.com/view/esa2026...

This breaks my heart.

Have you taken a Lyft, shopped at Walmart, or used Facebook in the last decade? You may have been part of a @johnlist.bsky.social experiment. On The Pie, List discusses his new book Experimental Economics: Theory in Practice and what real-world experiments reveal about behavior.

Last call for those interested in joining my team and me in Buenos Aires for the Chicago School in Experimental Economics, November 4-8, 2026! There is no program fee, and financial assistance for accommodations is available. We will go over my new textbook! voices.uchicago.edu/jlist/the-ch...

Lecturing on discrimination this week and this study will be one discussion point: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura... Big data show that minority drivers are 24–33% more likely to be cited and paid 23–34% higher fines, not explained by differences in offense rates, accident risk, or re-offense rates.

CfP: 2026 Advances with Field Experiments (AFE) Conference in Chicago (September 2026) For more conferences, please check our page: https://statatexblog.com/conferences

It turns out that certain combinations of tau and alpha are consistent with risk mattering less. Surprise: the model also provides an explanation for the uncertainty effect, a finding that Uri Gneezy, @johnlist.bsky.social, and I wrote up 20 years ago. academic.oup.com/qje/article-... 17/N

Our new study just out in the @nber.org. We use a natural field experiment from my time back at Lyft to show that nonlinear pricing isn't just a contract design problem. It's a behavioral intervention problem too.

Organized by @johnlist.bsky.social (UChicago) and Robert Metcalf (Columbia), AFE 2026 brings together innovative work shaping economics, policy, and business through real-world experimentation.

Congrats on the new job! And, looking forward to my visit!

Some ideas change the world. Most don't. This isn't because they are bad ideas. It is because they never had the ingredients to scale in the first place. Honored to be speaking on this crucial topic at the Nuremberg's Historic Town Hall next month. Join me if you can! pretix.eu/nim/johnlist/

Big Announcement! I'm thrilled to let everyone know that the Chicago School in Experimental Economics is heading to Buenos Aires! This edition of CSEE will take place November 4-8, 2026 at the Universidad del CEMA. Please visit here for more information: voices.uchicago.edu/jlist/the-ch...

Munich in September, great colleagues, and a field that matters. If you're working on economics of education, please join us at the CESifo Economics of Education conference! Rick and Ludger (woessmann.bsky.social) always put together a very stimulating conference.

Alright everyone I heard you! We have nearly 1000 applications to the CSEE and we are not even to the deadline! This means two very positive things: first, experimental economics is thriving (and more!). Second, we need to do more of these summer schools. Latin America, you're next—stay tuned!

The deadline is here! Last call for applications to the Chicago School in Experimental Economics in Japan. This free summer school will take place June 22–26, 2026 at the University of Osaka. Apply here: voices.uchicago.edu/jlist/the-ch... Questions? Contact melissade4@uchicago.edu

Economics is really for everyone and everypup! Here is @drdanasuskind.bsky.social asking John Nash if she wants to go to the Economics department today. If only my own students would get this excited about economics!

Very kind, thanks so much @markgsheppard.com!

If that link does not work please try this one: ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura...

What hits home runs in the minors but strikes out in the majors? Most pilot programs. They dazzle in pilots and flop at scale. My new study (ideas.repec.org/p/feb/natura...) offers a model for designing interventions that anticipate scaling challenges early. Let's make scaling a scientific object!

Consumer Demand and Market Competition with Time-Intensive Goods by Joseph Goodman, Lancelot Henry de Frahan, Justin Holz, @johnlist.bsky.social, Evan McKay, Niall McMenamin, Sally Sadoff & Hal Sider

Excited to announce that this year's Advances with Field Experiments conference will take place at the University of Chicago on September 17-18, 2026. @johnlist.bsky.social and I will send out a call for abstracts early in the Spring. bfi.uchicago.edu/events/event... @katymilkman.bsky.social

My FOMO has now been maximized...by a picture just sent! I had to miss this year, but the AEAs are always a favorite, largely because of the brilliant economists. Pictured below are two of them on the market: Haruka and Danielle. Good luck to you both, keep changing the world and making us proud!

The effect of the left-digit in ride-sharing apps is significant—research by @johnlist.bsky.social et al suggests as much as $160M in profit is left in the table by not using it: buff.ly/QaM34hn

The holidays are a good time to step back from the research and remember what it's all for. Grateful for family, for colleagues who push my thinking, and for the chance to do work that might make a small difference. Wishing you and yours a restful break and a bright 2026!

Excited to announce the 4th Chicago School in Experimental Economics is heading to Osaka, Japan! Join us in June 2026 for an intensive week on frontier experimental methods. We'll cover my textbook (lnkd.in/eT9Ci-YT) and you'll have the chance to present your research. Apply here: lnkd.in/grVg68Qn

Wonderful conference! I urge all to mark their calendars.

Happy 1-year anniversary to the most incredible couple I know—Francesca & Eli! You two are brilliant, kind, and absolutely unstoppable together. Here’s to many more years of love, laughter, and changing the world in your own beautiful way. Love you both!😍😍

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Sending all my love. Never forget that the best things at the table aren't on the plates. Today's data point: you matter deeply to someone. Let them know how much they matter to you. Wishing you a Thanksgiving full of exactly that.

The first foreign translation contract for my new Experimental Economics textbook has just come in—from Greece! There's a certain poetic justice here: given how many Greek letters fill the equations, they're essentially translating it back to the original language.🇬🇷📚 www.amazon.com/Experimental...