Nicholas Bloom
William D. Eberle Professor of Economics, Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and Professor, by courtesy, of Economics at the Graduate School of Business
Academic Appointments
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Professor, Economics
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Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR)
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Professor (By courtesy), Economics
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Faculty Affiliate, Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI)
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Affiliate, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
Administrative Appointments
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Professor, Stanford University, Department of Economics (2012 - Present)
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Professor by Courtesy, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business (2012 - Present)
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Co-Director of the Productivity Program, National Bureau of Economic Research (2011 - Present)
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Associate Professor (with tenure), Stanford University, Department of Economics (2009 - 2012)
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Assistant Professor, Stanford University, Department of Economics (2005 - 2009)
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Research Fellow, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics (2003 - 2006)
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Associate Consultant, McKinsey & Company (2002 - 2003)
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Business Tax Policy Advisor, HM Treasury (2001 - 2002)
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Research Economist, Institute for Fiscal Studies (1996 - 2002)
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Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2013 - 2013)
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Fellow, Econometrics Society (2011 - 2011)
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Research Fellowship, Alfred Sloan Foundation (2008 - 2010)
Honors & Awards
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EIB Prize, European Investment Bank (2015)
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Kauffman Medal, Kauffman Foundation (2013)
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John T Dunlop Scholar Award, Labor Economics Research Association (2008)
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PhD advising award, Stanford Graduate Economics Association (2008)
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Addington Prize, Fraser Institute (2013)
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Bemacer Prize, Observatorio del Banco Central Europeo (OBCE) (2012)
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Frisch Medal, Econometric Society (2010)
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Bemacer Prize, Observatrio del Banco Central Europeo (2012)
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Frisch Medal, The Econometrics Society (2010)
Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations
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Associate Editor, Econometrica (2012 - Present)
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Associate Editor, Quarterly Journal of Economics (2012 - Present)
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Member, Editorial Review Board, Academy of Management Perspectives (2011 - Present)
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Associate Editor, Management Science (2011 - Present)
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Memberr, Board of Editors, Journal of Economic Literature (2010 - Present)
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Member, American Economic Journal of Macro (2009 - Present)
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Associate Editor, Economic Journal (2009 - Present)
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Associate Editor, Journal of Monetary Economics (2008 - 2010)
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Research Associate, Centre for Economic Performance
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Affiliate, J-PAL
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Co-Director of Productivity, NBER
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Associate, EF&G and Monetary Economics programs, NBER
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Research Fellow, Centre for Economic Policy Research
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Member, San Francisco Federal Reserve Board
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Research Fellow, IZA
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Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy
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Associate, Toulouse Network for Information Technology
Professional Education
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BA, Cambridge University, Fitzwilliam College, Economics (1994)
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MPhil., Oxford University, St. Peters College, Economics (1996)
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PhD, University College London, Economics (2001)
2024-25 Courses
- Labor Economics II
ECON 247 (Win) - Labor Economics Seminar
ECON 345 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Management Economics
ECON 149 (Win) -
Independent Studies (5)
- Directed Reading
ECON 139D (Aut, Win, Spr) - Directed Reading
ECON 239D (Aut, Win, Spr) - Directed Readings in Public Policy
PUBLPOL 298 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Honors Thesis Research
ECON 199D (Aut, Win, Spr) - Practical Training
ECON 299 (Aut, Win, Spr)
- Directed Reading
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Prior Year Courses
2023-24 Courses
- Labor Economics II
ECON 247 (Win) - Labor Economics Seminar
ECON 345 (Aut, Win, Spr) - The Modern Firm in Theory and Practice
ECON 149 (Win)
2022-23 Courses
- Labor Economics II
ECON 247 (Win) - Labor Economics Seminar
ECON 345 (Aut, Win, Spr)
2021-22 Courses
- Labor Economics II
ECON 247 (Win) - Labor Economics Seminar
ECON 345 (Aut, Win, Spr)
- Labor Economics II
Stanford Advisees
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Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC)
Adrian Blattner, Bharat Chandar, Yiqin Fu -
Doctoral Dissertation Advisor (AC)
Shelby Buckman, Mihai Codreanu, Jonathan Hartley -
Master's Program Advisor
Alexander Finan, Rick Mihm -
Doctoral Dissertation Co-Advisor (AC)
Emma Rockall
All Publications
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Trade and Management
REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
2021; 103 (3): 443-460
View details for DOI 10.1162/rest_a_00925
View details for Web of Science ID 000673449300003
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The World Management Survey at 18: lessons and the way forward
OXFORD REVIEW OF ECONOMIC POLICY
2021; 37 (2): 231-258
View details for DOI 10.1093/oxrep/grab009
View details for Web of Science ID 000685212500002
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COVID-19 Shifted Patent Applications toward Technologies That Support Working from Home
AMER ECONOMIC ASSOC. 2021: 263-266
View details for DOI 10.1257/pandp.20211057
View details for Web of Science ID 000655908100049
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COVID-19 Is a Persistent Reallocation Shock
AMER ECONOMIC ASSOC. 2021: 287-291
View details for DOI 10.1257/pandp.20211110
View details for Web of Science ID 000655908100054
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Turbulence. Firm Decentralization. and Growth in Bad Times
AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
2021; 13 (1): 133–69
View details for DOI 10.1257/app.20180752
View details for Web of Science ID 000604439700005
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TRAPPED FACTORS AND CHINA'S IMPACT ON GLOBAL GROWTH
ECONOMIC JOURNAL
2021; 131 (633): 156–91
View details for DOI 10.1093/ej/ueaa086
View details for Web of Science ID 000637047500006
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The Unprecedented Stock Market Reaction to COVID-19
REVIEW OF ASSET PRICING STUDIES
2020; 10 (4): 742–58
View details for DOI 10.1093/rapstu/raaa008
View details for Web of Science ID 000595485100008
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Firm performance and macro forecast accuracy
JOURNAL OF MONETARY ECONOMICS
2020; 114: 26–41
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2019.02.008
View details for Web of Science ID 000571474100002
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Economic Uncertainty Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Journal of public economics
2020: 104274
Abstract
We consider several economic uncertainty indicators for the US and UK before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: implied stock market volatility, newspaper-based policy uncertainty, twitter chatter about economic uncertainty, subjective uncertainty about business growth, forecaster disagreement about future GDP growth, and a model-based measure of macro uncertainty. Four results emerge. First, all indicators show huge uncertainty jumps in reaction to the pandemic and its economic fallout. Indeed, most indicators reach their highest values on record. Second, peak amplitudes differ greatly - from a 35% rise for the model-based measure of US economic uncertainty (relative to January 2020) to a 20-fold rise in forecaster disagreement about UK growth. Third, time paths also differ: Implied volatility rose rapidly from late February, peaked in mid-March, and fell back by late March as stock prices began to recover. In contrast, broader measures of uncertainty peaked later and then plateaued, as job losses mounted, highlighting differences between Wall Street and Main Street uncertainty measures. Fourth, in Cholesky-identified VAR models fit to monthly U.S. data, a COVID-size uncertainty shock foreshadows peak drops in industrial production of 12-19%.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104274
View details for PubMedID 32921841
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Healthy Business? Managerial Education and Management in Health Care
REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
2020; 102 (3): 506–17
View details for DOI 10.1162/rest_a_00847
View details for Web of Science ID 000544959700007
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COVID-19 Is Also a Reallocation Shock
BROOKINGS PAPERS ON ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
2020: 329–71
View details for DOI 10.1353/eca.2020.0012
View details for Web of Science ID 000639606200012
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Do Management Interventions Last? Evidence from India
AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
2020; 12 (2): 198–219
View details for DOI 10.1257/app.20180369
View details for Web of Science ID 000522150600007
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Are Ideas Getting Harder to Find?
AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
2020; 110 (4): 1104–44
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.20180338
View details for Web of Science ID 000522720800005
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Have R&D Spillovers Declined in the 21(st) Century?
FISCAL STUDIES
2019; 40 (4): 561–90
View details for DOI 10.1111/1475-5890.12195
View details for Web of Science ID 000513759700006
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A toolkit of policies to promote innovation
VOPROSY EKONOMIKI
2019: 5–31
View details for DOI 10.32609/0042-8736-2019-10-5-31
View details for Web of Science ID 000497653800001
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A Toolkit of Policies to Promote Innovation
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES
2019; 33 (3): 163–84
View details for DOI 10.1257/jep.33.3.163
View details for Web of Science ID 000478070800008
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What Drives Differences in Management Practices?
AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
2019; 109 (5): 1648–83
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.20170491
View details for Web of Science ID 000466609600003
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THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
2019; 134 (1): 1–50
View details for DOI 10.1093/qje/qjy025
View details for Web of Science ID 000489161300001
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Brexit and Uncertainty: Insights from the Decision Maker Panel
FISCAL STUDIES
2018; 39 (4): 555–80
View details for DOI 10.1111/1475-5890.12179
View details for Web of Science ID 000453773000002
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Innovation, Reallocation, and Growth
AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
2018; 108 (11): 3450–91
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.20130470
View details for Web of Science ID 000448528900011
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Really Uncertain Business Cycles
ECONOMETRICA
2018; 86 (3): 1031–65
View details for DOI 10.3982/ECTA10927
View details for Web of Science ID 000434093400007
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The Disappearing Large-Firm Wage Premium
AMER ECONOMIC ASSOC. 2018: 317–22
View details for DOI 10.1257/pandp.20181066
View details for Web of Science ID 000434468600061
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Management Practices, Workforce Selection, and Productivity
JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
2018; 36: S371–S409
View details for DOI 10.1086/694107
View details for Web of Science ID 000418563400009
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Observations on Uncertainty
AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
2017; 50 (1): 79-84
View details for DOI 10.1111/1467-8462.12203
View details for Web of Science ID 000398118200007
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Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
2016; 131 (4): 1593-1636
View details for DOI 10.1093/qje/qjw024
View details for Web of Science ID 000388576700001
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International Data on Measuring Management Practices
AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
2016; 106 (5): 152-156
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.p20161058
View details for Web of Science ID 000379341300028
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Trade Induced Technical Change? The Impact of Chinese Imports on Innovation, IT and Productivity
REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
2016; 83 (1): 87-117
View details for DOI 10.1093/restud/rdv039
View details for Web of Science ID 000374224300004
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Hospital Board And Management Practices Are Strongly Related To Hospital Performance On Clinical Quality Metrics
HEALTH AFFAIRS
2015; 34 (8): 1304-1311
Abstract
National policies to improve health care quality have largely focused on clinical provider outcomes and, more recently, payment reform. Yet the association between hospital leadership and quality, although crucial to driving quality improvement, has not been explored in depth. We collected data from surveys of nationally representative groups of hospitals in the United States and England to examine the relationships among hospital boards, management practices of front-line managers, and the quality of care delivered. First, we found that hospitals with more effective management practices provided higher-quality care. Second, higher-rated hospital boards had superior performance by hospital management staff. Finally, we identified two signatures of high-performing hospital boards and management practice. Hospitals with boards that paid greater attention to clinical quality had management that better monitored quality performance. Similarly, we found that hospitals with boards that used clinical quality metrics more effectively had higher performance by hospital management staff on target setting and operations. These findings help increase understanding of the dynamics among boards, front-line management, and quality of care and could provide new targets for improving care delivery.
View details for DOI 10.1377/hlthaff.2014.1282
View details for Web of Science ID 000361141000009
View details for PubMedID 26240243
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Do Private Equity Owned Firms Have Better Management Practices?
AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
2015; 105 (5): 442-446
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.p20151000
View details for Web of Science ID 000357929400082
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Does Management Matter in schools?
ECONOMIC JOURNAL
2015; 125 (584): 647-674
View details for DOI 10.1111/ecoj.12267
View details for Web of Science ID 000355237500002
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The Impact of Competition on Management Quality: Evidence from Public Hospitals
REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
2015; 82 (2): 457-489
View details for DOI 10.1093/restud/rdu045
View details for Web of Science ID 000353544900002
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Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
2015; 130 (1): 165-218
View details for DOI 10.1093/qje/qju032
View details for Web of Science ID 000351525000004
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The Distinct Effects of Information Technology and Communication Technology on Firm Organization
MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
2014; 60 (12)
View details for DOI 10.1287/mnsc.2014.2013
View details for Web of Science ID 000346204900001
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JEEA-FBBVA LECTURE 2013: THE NEW EMPIRICAL ECONOMICS OF MANAGEMENT
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
2014; 12 (4): 835-876
View details for DOI 10.1111/jeea.12094
View details for Web of Science ID 000340677900001
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Incomplete Contracts and the Internal Organization of Firms
JOURNAL OF LAW ECONOMICS & ORGANIZATION
2014; 30: 37-63
View details for DOI 10.1093/jleo/ewt003
View details for Web of Science ID 000336411900003
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Why Has US Policy Uncertainty Risen Since 1960?
AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
2014; 104 (5): 56-60
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.104.5.56
View details for Web of Science ID 000338925400008
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Fluctuations in Uncertainty
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES
2014; 28 (2): 153-175
View details for DOI 10.1257/jep.28.2.153
View details for Web of Science ID 000344365500008
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Identifying Technology Spillovers and Product Market Rivalry
ECONOMETRICA
2013; 81 (4): 1347-1393
View details for DOI 10.3982/ECTA9466
View details for Web of Science ID 000322338400005
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A Trapped-Factors Model of Innovation
AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
2013; 103 (3): 208-213
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.103.3.208
View details for Web of Science ID 000322877000034
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Management Practices and the Quality of Care in Cardiac Units
JAMA INTERNAL MEDICINE
2013; 173 (8): 684-692
Abstract
To improve the quality of health care, many researchers have suggested that health care institutions adopt management approaches that have been successful in the manufacturing and technology sectors. However, relatively little information exists about how these practices are disseminated in hospitals and whether they are associated with better performance.To describe the variation in management practices among a large sample of hospital cardiac care units; assess association of these practices with processes of care, readmissions, and mortality for patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI); and suggest specific directions for the testing and dissemination of health care management approaches.We adapted an approach used to measure management and organizational practices in manufacturing to collect management data on cardiac units. We scored performance in 18 practices using the following 4 dimensions: standardizing care, tracking of key performance indicators, setting targets, and incentivizing employees. We used multivariate analyses to assess the relationship of management practices with process-of-care measures, 30-day risk-adjusted mortality, and 30-day readmissions for acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Cardiac units in US hospitals.Five hundred ninety-seven cardiac units, representing 51.5% of hospitals with interventional cardiac catheterization laboratories and at least 25 annual AMI discharges.Process-of-care measures, 30-day risk-adjusted mortality, and 30-day readmissions for AMI.We found a wide distribution in management practices, with fewer than 20% of hospitals scoring a 4 or a 5 (best practice) on more than 9 measures. In multivariate analyses, management practices were significantly correlated with mortality (P = .01) and 6 of 6 process measures (P < .05). No statistically significant association was found between management and 30-day readmissions.The use of management practices adopted from manufacturing sectors is associated with higher process-of-care measures and lower 30-day AMI mortality. Given the wide differences in management practices across hospitals, dissemination of these practices may be beneficial in achieving high-quality outcomes.
View details for DOI 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.3577
View details for PubMedID 23552986
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DOES MANAGEMENT MATTER? EVIDENCE FROM INDIA
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
2013; 128 (1): 1-51
View details for DOI 10.1093/qje/qjs044
View details for Web of Science ID 000314883900001
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Does Management Really Work?
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW
2012; 90 (11): 76-?
View details for Web of Science ID 000310097200012
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Does management really work?
Harvard business review
2012; 90 (11): 77-80, 82, 148
Abstract
HBR's 90th anniversary is a sensible time to revisit a basic question: Are organizations more likely to succeed if they adopt good management practices? The answer may seem obvious to most HBR readers, but these three economists cast their net much wider than that. In a decadelong study of thousands of organizations in 20 countries, they and their interview teams assessed how well manufacturers, schools, and hospitals adhere to three management basics: targets, incentives, and monitoring. They found that huge numbers of companies follow none of those fundamentals, that adopting the basics yields big improvements in outcomes such as productivity and longevity, and that good nuts-and-bolts management at individual firms shapes national performance. At 14 textile manufacturers in India, for example, an intervention--involving free, high-quality advice from a consultant who was on-site half-time for five months--cut defects by half, reduced inventory by 20%, and raised output by 10%. A control group saw no such gains. The authors' global data set suggests that implementing good management at schools and hospitals yields change more slowly than at manufacturers--but it does come eventually. And the macroeconomic potential--for incomes, productivity, and delivery of critically needed services--is huge. A call for "better management" may sound prosaic, but given the global payoffs, it's actually quite radical.
View details for PubMedID 23155999
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The Organization of Firms Across Countries
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
2012; 127 (4): 1663-1705
View details for DOI 10.1093/qje/qje029
View details for Web of Science ID 000311905500003
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The land that lean manufacturing forgot? Management practices in transition countries
ECONOMICS OF TRANSITION
2012; 20 (4): 593-635
View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1468-0351.2012.00444.x
View details for Web of Science ID 000308940500002
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Uncertainty and the Economy
POLICY REVIEW
2012: 3-13
View details for Web of Science ID 000309851200001
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Management Practices Across Firms and Countries
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES
2012; 26 (1): 12-33
View details for DOI 10.5465/amp.2011.0077
View details for Web of Science ID 000302008200002
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Americans Do IT Better: US Multinationals and the Productivity Miracle
AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
2012; 102 (1): 167-201
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.102.1.167
View details for Web of Science ID 000300411000006
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ARE FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORKPLACE PRACTICES A VALUABLE FIRM RESOURCE?
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
2011; 32 (4): 343-367
View details for DOI 10.1002/smj.879
View details for Web of Science ID 000287765200001
- Human resource management and productivity Handbook of Labor Economics 2011
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New Approaches to Surveying Organizations
122nd Annual Meeting of the American-Economics-Association
AMER ECONOMIC ASSOC. 2010: 105–9
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.100.2.105
View details for Web of Science ID 000278389300022
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Why Do Firms in Developing Countries Have Low Productivity?
122nd Annual Meeting of the American-Economics-Association
AMER ECONOMIC ASSOC. 2010: 619–23
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.100.2.619
View details for Web of Science ID 000278389300119
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Modern Management: Good for the Environment or Just Hot Air?
ECONOMIC JOURNAL
2010; 120 (544): 551-572
View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1468-0297.2010.02351.x
View details for Web of Science ID 000277405100012
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Does Product Market Competition Lead Firms to Decentralize?
122nd Annual Meeting of the American-Economics-Association
AMER ECONOMIC ASSOC. 2010: 434–38
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.100.2.434
View details for Web of Science ID 000278389300084
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Recent Advances in the Empirics of Organizational Economics
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECONOMICS, VOL 2
2010; 2: 105-137
View details for DOI 10.1146/annurev.economics.050708.143328
View details for Web of Science ID 000290636900005
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Why Do Management Practices Differ across Firms and Countries?
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES
2010; 24 (1): 203-224
View details for DOI 10.1257/jep.24.1.203
View details for Web of Science ID 000275435100010
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The Impact of Uncertainty Shocks
ECONOMETRICA
2009; 77 (3): 623-685
View details for DOI 10.3982/ECTA6248
View details for Web of Science ID 000266267700001
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Measuring and explaining management practices across firms and countries
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
2007; 122 (4): 1351-1408
View details for Web of Science ID 000251506900001
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Uncertainty and the dynamics of R&D
119th Annual Meeting of the American-Economic-Association
AMER ECONOMIC ASSOC. 2007: 250–55
View details for Web of Science ID 000246986500041
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Uncertainty and investment dynamics
REVIEW OF ECONOMIC STUDIES
2007; 74 (2): 391-415
View details for Web of Science ID 000245158400002
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Competition and innovation: An inverted-U relationship
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
2005; 120 (2): 701-728
View details for Web of Science ID 000229439000008
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Do R&D tax credits work? Evidence from a panel of countries 1979-1997
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
2002; 85 (1): 1-31
View details for Web of Science ID 000176456100001
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Patents, real options and firm performance
ECONOMIC JOURNAL
2002; 112 (478): C97-C116
View details for Web of Science ID 000174916900008