Marianne Bertrand, a leading economist in applied microeconomics

The Belgian economist Marianne Bertrand is a leading figure in applied microeconomics. She is a professor of Economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, where she holds the Chris P. Dialynas Distinguished Service Professorship in Economics.

Her research spans labor economics, corporate finance, political economy, and development economics. She focuses mainly on discrimination, social norms, and inequality, as well as corporate decision-making and the interactions between economic and political institutions.

She also heads the Inclusive Economy Lab at the University of Chicago Urban Labs, whose work aims to identify and evaluate solutions that can foster a more inclusive economy. She has also served as co-editor-in-chief of the American Economic Review, a leading academic journal in economics.

From Belgium to the United States: a unique academic journey

Marianne Bertrand began her higher education at the Université libre de Bruxelles, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics in 1991, followed by a Master's degree in Econometrics in 1992. She then continued her studies in the United States, where she moved in 1993.

In 1998, she earned a PhD in Economics from Harvard University before joining the Department of Economics at Princeton University, where she taught for two years. She then joined the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago in 2000.

Throughout her career, she has conducted a particularly prolific body of research, resulting in numerous publications in leading international academic journals, including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Political Economy, the American Economic Review, the Review of Economic Studies, and Econometrica.

Major contributions to the study of inequality, institutions, and economic behavior

Marianne Bertrand’s work has profoundly transformed the understanding of the mechanisms that shape economic behavior and inequality. Her work stands out notably for the originality of the questions she raises and the rigor of the empirical approaches she employs to answer them.

One of her most famous contributions concerns racial discrimination in hiring. In a study published in 2004 with Sendhil Mullainathan, she demonstrated—using comparable fictitious job applications sent to U.S. employers—that resumes bearing first names perceived as white received approximately 50% more follow-up calls for interviews. This experiment has become a benchmark for the empirical measurement of discrimination. Her work on gender inequality also demonstrates how stereotypes and social norms can influence career choices, income distribution within couples, and the division of household chores.

Her research in corporate finance and political economy sheds light on governance practices, executive compensation, and the influence of economic interests on political decisions. More broadly, it demonstrates how the characteristics of executives, incentives, and institutions influence the functioning of businesses and the economy.

Her research on development and public policy also examines barriers to economic inclusion and the effectiveness of interventions targeting disadvantaged populations. It is based in particular on rigorous evaluations of concrete policies, in line with the work she conducts at the Inclusive Economy Lab.

Beyond her contributions to specific fields, Marianne Bertrand has also made a significant impact on the methods of empirical economics. In a 2004 paper co-authored with Esther Duflo and Sendhil Mullainathan, she demonstrated that certain statistical methods commonly used in the evaluation of public policies could overestimate the precision of results, and suggested solutions to ensure the reliability of conclusions. This work has had a lasting influence on research practices in applied economics.

International recognition and numerous awards

Marianne Bertrand’s work has earned her several prestigious awards. In 2004, she received the Elaine Bennett Research Award, presented by the American Economic Association to an early-career economist in recognition of the quality of her work. In 2012, she received the Rosen Prize for Outstanding Contributions to Labor Economics, awarded by the Society of Labor Economists, in recognition of her contributions to labor economics.

She was also elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2012, and then of the Econometric Society in 2013. In 2021, she was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, which honors scientists for the significance of their contributions to research.

Then, in 2024, she received the Barry Prize from the American Academy of Sciences and Letters, which recognizes her contributions to the understanding of economic relationships, particularly in the fields of finance, corporate governance, discrimination, and development economics.

Selected Publications by Marianne Bertrand

• “Predicting and Preventing Gun Violence: An Experimental Evaluation of READI Chicago,” with Monica Bhatt, Sara Heller, Max Kapustin, and Christopher Blattman, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2024.
• “Richard T. Ely Lecture — Gender in the 21st Century,” American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings, 2020.
• “Breaking the Glass Ceiling? The Effect of Board Quotas on Female Labor Market Outcomes in Norway,” with Sandra Black, Adriana Lleras-Muney, and Sissel Jensen, Review of Economic Studies, 2019.
• “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination,” with Sendhil Mullainathan, American Economic Review, 2004.
• “How Much Should We Trust Differences-in-Differences Estimates?”, with Esther Duflo and Sendhil Mullainathan, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2004.
• “Gender Identity and Relative Income within Households”, with Emir Kamenica and Jessica Pan, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2015.

Among her many awards and honors:

• Barry Prize from the American Academy of Sciences and Letters (2024)
• Member of the National Academy of Sciences (2021)
• Member of the Econometric Society (2013)
• Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2012)
• Rosen Prize for Outstanding Contributions to Labor Economics, Society of Labor Economists (2012)
• Elaine Bennett Research Prize, American Economic Association (2004)

More info about her doctor honoris causa award ceremony, followed by a public lecture

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