Economics workshop to explore impact of financial opportunities, constraints

As part of its continuing series of workshops, the Milton Friedman Institute for Economic Research will sponsor a two-day workshop on “Finance and Development,” in conjunction with the Consortium on Financial Systems and Poverty at the University, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

The workshop will investigate the impact of financial opportunities and constraints on individuals and firms in order to understand better financial decision-making, the micro-economic underpinnings of economic development and the consequent policy implications.

Lars Hansen, the Homer J. Livingston Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and Statistics, and Robert Townsend, a Research Associate in Economics at Chicago and the Elizabeth and James Killian professor of economics at MIT, organized the workshop.

The workshop will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, and from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 230 S. LaSalle St. The event is open to the campus community, and the registration deadline is Monday, May 18. To register, contact the MFI at mfi@uchicago.edu.

The following presentations are scheduled:

Wednesday, May 20—
1 p.m., Presenter: Paco Buera, assistant professor of economics, University of California, Los Angeles, “The Dynamics of Reforms: Productivity Growth and Capital Flows,” Discussant: John Heaton, the Joseph L. Gidwitz Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth.

2:30 p.m., Presenter: Anne Villamil, professor of economics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, “Entrepreneurs, Legal Institutions and Firm Dynamics,” Discussant: Mariacristina De Nardi, senior economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

4 p.m., Presenter: James Tybout, professor of economics, Pennsylvania State University, “Credit Rationing, Macro Volatility, and Industrial Evolution in Developing Countries,” Discussant: Gregor Matvos, Assistant Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth.

Thursday, May 21—
8:30 a.m., Presenter: Adair Morse, Assistant Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth, “Information Disclosure, Cognitive Biases and Payday Borrowing,” Discussant: Tavneet Suri, assistant professor of applied economics, MIT Sloan School of Management.

10 a.m., Presenter: Krislert Samphantharak assistant professor of economics, University of California, San Diego, “Risk and Return in Village Economies,” Discussant: Juhani Linnainmaa, Assistant Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth.

11:30 a.m., Presenter: Chris Woodruff, associate professor of economics, University of California, San Diego, “Measuring Marginal Returns in Microenterprises, Experimentally,” Discussant: Hoyt Bleakley, Assistant Professor of Economics at Chicago Booth.

Schedule updates and papers will be available on the MFI Web site at: http://mfi.uchicago.edu.