Mattersdorff-Steinhardt Lecture

The Mattersdorff-Steinhardt lecture is given every year by a distinguished scholar chosen by the economics department faculty.

Chris Blattman photographed at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy.Photo... Chris Blattman photographed at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy.

Photo Credit: Jason Smith

Guest Lecturer for 2023:

Chris Blattman is an economist and political scientist who studies global conflict, crime, and poverty.

Blattman is the Ramalee E. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies at the University of Chicago, in the Harris School of Public Policy and The Pearson Institute. He also coleads the university’s Development Economics Center and the International Policy and Development program at the Harris School.

The questions he is most passionate about: Why are some people and societies violent, oppressive, and poor? And what can we do about it? He works in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the United States.

Most of Blattman’s current research is with armed groups, gangs, organized crime, and the people who join violent organizations. This work involves a blend of qualitative interviews, large-scale surveys, statistical analysis, and field experiments. He also wants to bring big ideas and research to a general audience, which is why he wrote Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace.

Date: February 21, 2023
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Council Chamber, Templeton Campus Center

Recent Mattersdorff-Steinhardt Lecturers

2019   Dr. David Autor
2017   Dr. David Neumark
2016   Dr. Gregory Clark
2013   Dr. Randall Wray
2012   Dean Baker
2010   William Black
2009   Linda Bilmes
2008   Giovanni Peri
2007   Kenneth Pomeranz
2006   Samuel Bowles
2005   Ilene Grabel
2004   Nancy Folbre
2003   Trudy Cameron
2002   Richard Lipsey
2001   James K. Galbraith