SI 2025 Inequality and Macroeconomics
Organized by Roland Bénabou, Raquel Fernández, and Jonathan Heathcote
July 15-16, 2025
Royal Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA
Format: 40 minutes for authors,, 10 minutes for discussants, and 10 minutes for general discussion
Tuesday, July 15
8:30 am
Coffee and Pastries
9:00 am

The Implications of Family Structure, Education Prices, and Policy Reforms for Inequality and Intergenerational Mobility

Joseph H. Pedtke, Clemson University

Discussant:
Ilse Lindenlaub, Yale University and NBER
10:00 am
Break
10:15 am

Staying Together Forever? Life-cycle Effects of Overoptimistic Couples

Ursula Berresheim, University of Mannheim
David Koll, University of Mannheim

Discussant:
Maurizio Mazzocco, University of California, Los Angeles
11:15 am

Homelessness

Ayse Imrohoroglu, University of Southern California
Kai Zhao, University of Connecticut

Discussant:
Kurt Mitman, CEMFI
12:15 pm
Lunch
1:15 pm

The Local Root of Wage Inequality

Hugo Lhuillier, Columbia University

Discussant:
Tatjana Kleineberg, The World Bank
2:15 pm
Break
2:30 pm

Education, Lifestyles, and Health Inequality

Jesus Bueren, European University Institute
Josep Pijoan-Mas, CEMFI
Dante Amengual, CEMFI

Discussant:
Neha Bairoliya, University of Southern California
3:30 pm

On the Mechanics of Top Wealth Inequality (slides)

Fatih Guvenen, University of Minnesota and NBER
Serdar Ozkan, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Sergio Ocampo-Diaz, University of Western Ontario

Discussant:
J. Carter Braxton, University of Wisconsin - Madison
4:30 pm
Adjourn
Wednesday, July 16
8:30 am
Coffee and Pastries
9:00 am

Taxing the Rich? A Theory of Income and Wealth Inequality

Varadarajan V. Chari, University of Minnesota and NBER
Patrick J. Kehoe, Stanford University and NBER
Pierlauro Lopez, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Elena Pastorino, Stanford University and NBER
Sergio Salgado, University of Pennsylvania

Discussant:
Matthieu Gomez, Columbia University
10:00 am
Break
10:15 am

Intergenerational Altruism and Transfers of Time and Money: A Life Cycle Perspective

Jamie Hentall-MacCuish, HEC Paris
Eric French, University of Cambridge
Cormac O'Dea, Yale University and NBER
Uta Bolt, University of Bristol

Discussant:
Angela Zheng, McMaster University
11:15 am

Explaining Contract Heterogeneity in the Credit Card Market

Satyajit Chatterjee, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Burcu Eyigungor, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Discussant:
Kartik Athreya, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
12:15 pm
Lunch
1:15 pm

The Macroeconomic Cost of College Dropouts

Oliko Vardishvili, University of California, Irvine

Discussant:
Alessandra Fogli, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
2:15 pm
Break
2:30 pm

Taxation and Household Decisions: an Intertemporal Analysis (slides)

Mary Ann Bronson, Georgetown University
Daniel Haanwinckel, University of California, Los Angeles and NBER
Maurizio Mazzocco, University of California, Los Angeles

Discussant:
Gustavo Ventura, Arizona State University
3:30 pm

Market Power, Growth, and Wealth Inequality (slides)

Giammario Impullitti, University of Nottingham
Pontus Rendahl, University of Cambridge

Discussant:
Maarten De Ridder, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
4:30 pm
Adjourn