The Economics and Social Policy Seminar Series draws leading economists to campus to share their empirical research on issues related to inequality and social policy. The series is hosted by the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy. The faculty organizers are  Desmond Ang, Luis Armona, and Mark Shepard.

The seminar will meet every Tuesday from 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm in person. HUID's are required for entry.

Joint seminars with Harvard Economics, Opportunity Insights, and the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy will be held on Tuesday, November 18th, and Tuesday, December 2nd, from 12:00-1:00 pm in Malkin Penthouse and in hybrid format via Zoom.

To receive more details and instructions for attending the event, please sign up for the seminar mailing list.

Fall 2025 Schedule
9/9/2025Andrés Barrios Fernández (Universidad de los Andes): Immigrant Exposure and Native Students’ Educational Trajectories; Rubenstein 414AB; 12:00pm-1:15 pm.
9/16/2025René Livas (Harvard University-PhD Student): The Wage Tax and Suburbanization; Rubenstein 414AB; 12:00pm-1:15 pm.
9/23/2025Karen Ni (Harvard University-PhD Student): Divergent Pathways: The Impact of Alternative Pathways to HS Graduation on Student Outcomes; Rubenstein 414AB; 12:00pm-1:15 pm.
9/30/2025Avi Moorthy (Harvard University-PhD Student):The Defender on the Move: Black Newspapers and the Great Migration; Rubenstein 414AB; 12:00pm-1:15 pm.
10/7/2025Alice Danon (Harvard University-PhD Student): Is choice always good? Evidence from a French high school reform;  Bell Hall (B-500); 12:00pm-1:15 pm.
10/14/2025Keith Ericson (Boston University): Moral Hazard under Liquidity Constraints; Rubenstein 414AB; 12:00pm-1:15 pm.
10/21/2025No Seminar
10/28/2025Jing Li (Tufts University): Entry and Coordination in the U.S. Electric Vehicle Charging Industry (joint paper with Katalin Springel)  Rubenstein 414AB; 12:00pm-1:15 pm.
11/4/2025Chris Neilson (Yale University): A Decade of Centralized School Choice Admission in Chile: Achievements & Challenges; Bell Hall (B-500); 12:00pm-1:15 pm.
11/11/2025Veteran's Day- No Seminar
11/18/2025JOINT SEMINAR with Economics Dept. and Opportunity Insights: Sendhil Mullainathan (MIT): Do LLMs understand? How would we know if they did?  Does it matter?; Malkin Penthouse 12- 1:00 pm.
11/25/2025Thanksgiving- No Seminar
12/2/2025

JOINT SEMINAR with Economics Dept. and Opportunity Insights: Jon Gruber (MIT): Optimal Flood Insurance in a Second-Best World: Fiscal Spillovers, Reclassification Risk and Moral Hazard; Joint with 

Adam Solomon, NYU Stern Malkin Penthouse; 12:00-1:00 pm.

  

Please contact heather_mckinnon@hks.harvard.edu with any questions about this event.