Department of Economics Newsletter
Dear Alumni and Friends,
This newsletter is a forum for sharing what is happening at Minnesota Economics, and this time I thought it would be useful to highlight a specific example of “how the sausage is made”—how we produce policy-impactful research while also training the next generation of economists at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Spotlight: The Research Program on Business Taxation
Every sausage shop—here, a big-science economics research shop—starts with a recipe. At any given time, the shop brings together Professors Anmol Bhandari and Ellen McGrattan; a rotating group of additional collaborators; PhD student research assistants (three this semester); undergraduate research assistants (also three this semester); and deep, ongoing engagement with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis as a core ingredient. Beyond producing frontier research, the shop also produces training through day-to-day mentoring and hands-on learning inside the group. Undergraduate participation is made possible through the Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute (HHEI) Undergraduate Research Program. For these students, this is a chance to experience frontier research from the inside, learning by doing in the truest sense. For our PhD students, it is an opportunity to develop skills that will shape their own research agendas and careers. Faculty leadership is strengthened by the Carter–Schwab Professorship, held by Professor Bhandari, which helps finance the operation of the shop. You can learn more about the team and its alumni and see the next generation of economists who are helping to make all of this happen. As yet another output of this shop, Professors Bhandari and McGrattan will bring insights from their research program directly into the classroom this spring when they teach intermediate macroeconomics.
Honoring Pat Bajari’s Legacy
On a sad note, this fall we held a memorial conference to honor the legacy of Pat Bajari, who passed away in April at the age of 55. Pat’s Minnesota roots ran deep: he is the only person in the history of Minnesota Economics to have been an undergraduate (’93, BS in Economics and Mathematics), a doctoral student (’97, PhD), and later a member of the faculty. He was a pioneering force in academic research and a trailblazer in what has become known as economics tech—the application of economic thinking at scale in the technology sector—through his work as Chief Economist at Amazon and later at Keystone. A remarkable statistic shared at the conference underscored this impact: Amazon now employs hundreds of economists, an economics function Pat built from scratch and one that helped define the role economists now play across the tech industry.
The conference brought together students, collaborators, mentors, mentees, friends, and industry colleagues to reflect on Pat’s extraordinary influence across both academia and business. It was especially meaningful that Pat’s extended family joined us and later shared that they “left with a better understanding of the importance of Patrick’s work,” while expressing gratitude to Amazon, Keystone, and the University of Minnesota for supporting and organizing the tribute. You can visit our conference website to view the program and the recorded legacy session.
Patrick L. Bajari Undergraduate Research Fund
In Pat’s honor, we have established the Patrick L. Bajari Undergraduate Research Fund. The fund will support undergraduate research opportunities through the same Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute (HHEI) Undergraduate Research Program that supports the work of Ellen McGrattan and Anmol Bhandari described above. These kinds of faculty–student research engagements reflected Pat’s own commitment, during his time as a faculty member, to giving Minnesota undergraduates a real shot to excel by working directly with faculty on frontier projects. This fund helps ensure that the opportunities Pat championed for students will continue for generations.
We are also delighted to share that Keystone Strategy, where Pat served as Chief Economist and Managing Director for Core AI, has committed up to $25,000 in dollar-for-dollar matching support. You can read more about the Patrick L. Bajari Undergraduate Research Fund, including information on participating in the matching opportunity.
New Fellowship Honors Jim Henderson
With fellowships playing an increasingly important role in supporting our graduate program, I am pleased to report that we have added a new fellowship this year that honors Jim Henderson, who taught at Minnesota from 1959 to 1983 and shaped generations of graduate students as the instructor of the department’s first course in graduate microeconomic theory. Henderson is well known for his coauthorship with Richard Quandt of the influential textbook Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach, first published in 1958. You can read the full story. This becomes the 17th fellowship named after a former or current member of Minnesota’s faculty; see the complete list of faculty-named graduate fellowships.
Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute Updates
The Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute (HHEI) serves as our bridge for ensuring that the research we produce has a real impact on economic policy. I am pleased to share several recent HHEI activities.
Earlier this month we hosted a webinar, “Central Bank Independence: Critical for Economic Growth and Stability?”—a hugely important topic—and you can watch the full webinar discussion. Also, don’t miss the HHEI Office Hours Podcast Series, including the most recent episode, Season 3, Episode 9: “Automation, Adaptation, and Employment: Kyle Herkenhoff on AI’s Labor Market Impact.” And save the date for the HHEI Spring roundtable and HHEI RA poster session which will take place on Thursday, April 16, 2026, with Assistant Professor Hannes Malmberg and UPenn Professor Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde (UMN PhD 2001) on long-run US fiscal sustainability. You can check out Hannes' recent podcast episode for a preview of the discussion.
Minnesota Lecture
In October, we welcomed Michèle Tertilt (PhD 2003) of the University of Mannheim to deliver the Minnesota Lecture, which brings back a distinguished alum of our PhD program and is always a highlight of the year. Her talk was titled “Protection for Whom? The Political Economy of Protective Labor Laws for Women.”
Save the Date
Another annual highlight is the Jon Goldstein Memorial Lecture (March 3, 5–6:30 p.m.). This spring it will be delivered by Richard Sandor (PhD 1967), based on his book Carbon Hunters: Reflections and Forecasts of Climate Markets in the 21st Century, coauthored with Paula DiPerna.
Support Minnesota Economics
Thank you for your ongoing interest and support of the Department of Economics and the Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute. If you’d like to make an unrestricted gift, you can contribute to the Economics Annual Fund or the Heller-Hurwicz Program Fund. You can also search for your favorite named fund. Thanks to the generosity of our alumni and friends, we continue striving to be one of the best economics programs in the world.
Wishing you all the best for the holiday season and the new year,
Thomas J. Holmes
Professor and Chair
Department of Economics
[email protected]
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