Contact Information
Bureau of Economic Analysis
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, DC 20233
Tel: (301) 278-9012
Email: Benjamin . Bridgman at bea . gov
Fields of Concentration
Macroeconomics, International Trade, Development, Industrial Organization.
Education
Ph.D. Economics, University of Minnesota, 2003.
Thesis: “Essays in Development” Advisor: V.V. Chari.
B.A. Economics, University of Chicago, 1995.
Professional Experience
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Assistant Chief Economist, 2016-
Senior Research Economist, 2004-2016.
Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University, 2010.
Visiting Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University, 2003-2004.
Refereed Articles
"Consumption Zones" (with Andrea Batch, Abe Dunn, and Mahsa Gholizadeh) Journal of Economic Geography, accepted.
"The Delayed Impact of Containers on U.S. International Trade Growth" The World Economy, vol.47(9), September 2024, pp. 3809-3839.
"The Economic Impact of Social Distancing: Evidence from State-Collected Data during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic" (with Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy) Explorations in Economic History 90, October 2023, 101531.
"Is Productivity on Vacation? The Impact of the Digital Economy on the Value of Leisure" Macroeconomic Dynamics 26(1), January 2022, pp.127-148.
"Public Enterprise and the Rise and Fall of Labor Share" (with Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy) Economic Inquiry 60(1), January 2022, pp. 320-350.
"Is Labor's Loss Capital's Gain? Gross versus Net Labor Share" Macroeconomic Dynamics 22(8), December 2018, pp. 2070-2087.
"Structural Transformation, Marketization, and Household Production around the World" (with Georg Duernecker and Berthold Herrendorf) Journal of Development Economics 113, July 2018, pp. 102-126.
"The Fall (and Rise) of Labour Share in New Zealand" (with Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy) New Zealand Economic Papers 52(2), 2018, pp. 109-130.
"Market Entry Mode: Evidence from the Golden Age of Hollywood” Economic Inquiry 55(2), April 2017, pp. 778-793.
“Home Productivity” Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 71, October 2016, pp. 60-76.
"Competition, Work Rules and Productivity," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 52, March 2015, pp. 136-149.
"Do Intangible Assets Explain High U.S. Foreign Investment Returns?” Journal of Macroeconomics 40, June 2014, pp. 159-171.
"International Supply Chains and the Volatility of Trade," Economic Inquiry 51(4), October 2013, pp. 2110-2124.
“Market Entry and Trade Weighted Import Costs,” Canadian Journal of Economics 46(3), August 2013, pp. 982-1013.
“The Rise of Vertical Specialization Trade,” Journal of International Economics 86(1), January 2012, pp. 133-140.
“Threatening to Increase Productivity: Evidence from Brazil's Oil Industry,” (with Victor Gomes and Arilton Teixeixa) World Development 39(8), August 2011, pp. 1372–1385.
“Heterogeneous Car Buyers: A Stylized Fact,” (with Ana Aizcorbe and Jeremy Nalewaik) Economics Letters 109(1), October 2010, pp. 50-53.
“Energy Prices and the Expansion of World Trade,” Review of Economic Dynamics 11(4), October 2008, pp. 904-916.
“Why are Ethnically Divided Countries Poor?” Journal of Macroeconomics 30(1), March 2008, pp. 1-18.
“What Does the Atlas Narodov Mira Measure?” Economics Bulletin 10(6), 2008, pp. 1-8.
“Vested Interests and Technology Adoption,” (with Igor Livshits and James MacGee) Journal of Monetary Economics 54(3), April 2007, pp. 649-666.
Work in Progress
"Labor Share, Markups, and Input-Output Linkages: Evidence from the National Accounts" (with Berthold Herrendorf) CEPR Discussion Paper 16857, January 2022
"A Century of Super-rich Mortality"
"Markups, Input-Output Linkages, and Fixed Costs – Evidence from Advanced Economies" (with Berthold Herrendorf)
"Structural Transformation or Marketization? The Role of Household Production in Consumption Expenditure" (with Akos Valentinyi)
ervices into the BEA
Chapters in Edited Volumes
“Specific Trade Costs, Quality and Import Prices” in Measuring the Effects of Globalization: Better Statistics for Better Policy Vol. 1, S.N. Houseman and M.J. Mandel, eds. Upjohn Institute Press 2015, pp. 121-147.
Non-Refereed Publications
"Introducing Consumer Durable Digital Services into the BEA Digital Economy Satellite Account" (with Tina Highfill and Jon Samuels) Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 48(1), February 2024, Article 102618.
"A Disaggregated View of Household Production Trends" AEA Papers and Proceedings, Vol. 113, May 2023, pp. 619-22.
"Accounting for Household Production in the National Accounts: An Update, 1965–2020" (with Andrew Craig and Danit Kanal) Survey of Current Business, Vol. 102(2), February 2022, pp. 1-13.
“Accounting for Household Production in the National Accounts: An Update, 1965–2014” Survey of Current Business, Vol. 96(2), February 2016, pp. 1-5.
“BEA Statistics and New Indicators of Economic Condition” (with Bruce Grimm) Survey of Current Business, Vol. 95(5), May 2015, pp. 1-9.
“Accounting for Household Production in the National Accounts, 1965–2010” (with Andrew Dugan, Mikhael Lal, Matthew Osborne, and Shaunda Villones) Survey of Current Business, Vol. 92(5), May 2012, pp. 23-36.
“What do wages tell us about future inflation?" FRBSF Economic Letter 96-03, January 19, 1996. (with Bharat Trehan.)
Older Working Papers
"Falling Stars: Global Firms and Income Inequality in Golden Age Hollywood"
"Engines of Leisure" BEA Working Paper 2016-7.
Cartels Destroy Productivity: Evidence from the New Deal Sugar Manufacturing Cartel, 1934-74 (with Shi Qi and James Schmitz) FRB Minneapolis Staff Report 519.
“What Ever Happened to the Puerto Rican Sugar Manufacturing Industry?” (with Arilton Teixeira, Michael Maio and James A. Schmitz, Jr.) FRB Minneapolis Staff Report 477.
“The Economic Performance of Cartels: Evidence from the New Deal Sugar Manufacturing Cartel, 1934-74” (with Shi Qi and James A. Schmitz, Jr.) FRB Minneapolis Staff Report 437.
“Why do Ethnic Divisions Reduce Public Goods Provision?” (Circulated as “Multiethnic Democracy” LSU Working Paper 2004-02).
Teaching Experience
Department of Economics, Georgetown University.
Development Economics
Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.
Principles of Macroeconomics, International Finance and (graduate level) Topics in Macroeconomics.
Department of Economics, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Principles of Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, and Intermediate Microeconomics.
Presentations
2024: Stanford Digital Economy Lab; Derby Business School; Hitotsubashi University; Midwest Macro Meetings, Richmond; Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Barcelona.
2023: ASSA Meetings, New Orleans; International Industrial Organization Conference, Washington DC; ESCoE Economic Measurement Conference, London; Bureau of Labor Statistics; NBER/CRIW Summer Institute; I-85 Macro Conference, Richmond; Southern Economic Association, New Orleans; Online Economic History Workshop.
2022: Empirical Trade Online Seminar; Cal State Fullerton; Econometric Society NASM, Miami; LAEF Growth and Structural Transformation Conference, Santa Barbara; Economic Growth Conference in Memory and Honor of Berthold Herrendorf, Arizona State; Midwest Macro Meetings, Dallas; Southern Economic Association, Ft. Lauderdale.
2021: Econometric Society NASM, Montreal; Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Minneapolis; Virtual International Trade and Macroeconomics Seminar.
2020: Virginia Commonwealth University.
2019: Federal Trade Commission; Econometric Society NASM, Seattle; Midwest Macro Meetings, East Lansing.
2018: Midwest Macro Meetings, Madison; Bureau of Labor Statistics; Productivity Growth: Past, Present, and Future, Arizona State; Midwest Macro Meetings, Nashville.
2017: American University; University of Auckland; Econometric Society NASM, St. Louis; Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Edinburgh; Dallas Fed; Midwest Macro Meetings, Pittsburgh.
2016: St. Louis Fed; Conference on Structural Transformation, Arizona State; Workshop on Household Production and Time Allocation, Atlanta Fed; Econometric Society NASM, Philadelphia; Midwest Macro Meetings, Kansas City; Southern Economic Association, Washington DC.
2015: ASSA Meetings, Boston; Vanderbilt University; Midwest Macro Meetings, St. Louis; Econometric Society World Congress, Montreal.
2014: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Econometric Society NASM, Minneapolis; NBER/CRIW Summer Institute; Ohio State.
2013: Measuring the Effects of Globalization, Washington; Midwest Macro Meetings, Champaign IL; NBER/CRIW Summer Institute; George Washington University; Arizona State.
2012: International Industrial Organization Conference, Arlington, VA; Growth and Development Conference, Toronto; Econometric Society NASM, Evanston.
2011: Arizona State; Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Ghent; Midwest Macro Meetings, Nashville; Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; Federal Reserve Board; Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
2010: LAEF Growth and Development, Santa Barbara; Midwest International Economics Group, Madison; Midwest Macro Meetings, East Lansing; International Industrial Organization Conference, Vancouver.
2009: Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Istanbul; Econometrics Society NASM, Boston; International Industrial Organization Conference, Boston; Federal Reserve Board.
2008: George Washington University; Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Cambridge MA; Econometrics Society NASM, Pittsburgh; Second International Index Measures Congress, Arlington VA; Midwest Macro Meetings, Philadelphia.
Earlier: Association for Public Economic Theory, Nashville (7/07), Midwest International Economics Group, Lawrence KS (10/05), Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Budapest (6/05), Louisiana State University (4/05), Federal Reserve Board (1/04), Bureau of Economic Analysis (1/04), CNA Corporation (1/04), Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (4/03), Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Stockholm (6/01), Midwest Macro Conference, Atlanta (4/01).
Referee Activities
American Economic Journal-Insights, American Economic Journal-Macroeconomics, American Economic Review, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economics, BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, BE Journal of Macroeconomics, Canadian Journal of Economics, Economic Inquiry, Economic Modelling, Economics Letters, Economic Systems Research, European Economic Review, International Economic Review, International Review of Economics and Finance, International Trade Journal, Journal of Applied Statistics, Journal of Business Cycle Research, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Journal of Economic Growth, Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Macroeconomics, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Productivity Analysis, Macroeconomic Dynamics, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Dynamics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Review of Economic Studies, Review of Income and Wealth, Review of International Economics, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Southern Economic Journal, World Development, The World Economy, Leverhulme Trust, National Science Foundation.
Contact Information
Bureau of Economic Analysis
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, DC 20233
Tel: (301) 278-9012
Email: Benjamin . Bridgman at bea . gov
Fields of Concentration
Macroeconomics, International Trade, Development, Industrial Organization.
Education
Ph.D. Economics, University of Minnesota, 2003.
Thesis: “Essays in Development” Advisor: V.V. Chari.
B.A. Economics, University of Chicago, 1995.
Professional Experience
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Assistant Chief Economist, 2016-
Senior Research Economist, 2004-2016.
Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University, 2010.
Visiting Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University, 2003-2004.
Refereed Articles
"Consumption Zones" (with Andrea Batch, Abe Dunn, and Mahsa Gholizadeh) Journal of Economic Geography, accepted.
"The Delayed Impact of Containers on U.S. International Trade Growth" The World Economy, vol.47(9), September 2024, pp. 3809-3839.
"The Economic Impact of Social Distancing: Evidence from State-Collected Data during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic" (with Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy) Explorations in Economic History 90, October 2023, 101531.
"Is Productivity on Vacation? The Impact of the Digital Economy on the Value of Leisure" Macroeconomic Dynamics 26(1), January 2022, pp.127-148.
"Public Enterprise and the Rise and Fall of Labor Share" (with Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy) Economic Inquiry 60(1), January 2022, pp. 320-350.
"Is Labor's Loss Capital's Gain? Gross versus Net Labor Share" Macroeconomic Dynamics 22(8), December 2018, pp. 2070-2087.
"Structural Transformation, Marketization, and Household Production around the World" (with Georg Duernecker and Berthold Herrendorf) Journal of Development Economics 113, July 2018, pp. 102-126.
"The Fall (and Rise) of Labour Share in New Zealand" (with Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy) New Zealand Economic Papers 52(2), 2018, pp. 109-130.
"Market Entry Mode: Evidence from the Golden Age of Hollywood” Economic Inquiry 55(2), April 2017, pp. 778-793.
“Home Productivity” Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 71, October 2016, pp. 60-76.
"Competition, Work Rules and Productivity," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control 52, March 2015, pp. 136-149.
"Do Intangible Assets Explain High U.S. Foreign Investment Returns?” Journal of Macroeconomics 40, June 2014, pp. 159-171.
"International Supply Chains and the Volatility of Trade," Economic Inquiry 51(4), October 2013, pp. 2110-2124.
“Market Entry and Trade Weighted Import Costs,” Canadian Journal of Economics 46(3), August 2013, pp. 982-1013.
“The Rise of Vertical Specialization Trade,” Journal of International Economics 86(1), January 2012, pp. 133-140.
“Threatening to Increase Productivity: Evidence from Brazil's Oil Industry,” (with Victor Gomes and Arilton Teixeixa) World Development 39(8), August 2011, pp. 1372–1385.
“Heterogeneous Car Buyers: A Stylized Fact,” (with Ana Aizcorbe and Jeremy Nalewaik) Economics Letters 109(1), October 2010, pp. 50-53.
“Energy Prices and the Expansion of World Trade,” Review of Economic Dynamics 11(4), October 2008, pp. 904-916.
“Why are Ethnically Divided Countries Poor?” Journal of Macroeconomics 30(1), March 2008, pp. 1-18.
“What Does the Atlas Narodov Mira Measure?” Economics Bulletin 10(6), 2008, pp. 1-8.
“Vested Interests and Technology Adoption,” (with Igor Livshits and James MacGee) Journal of Monetary Economics 54(3), April 2007, pp. 649-666.
Work in Progress
"Labor Share, Markups, and Input-Output Linkages: Evidence from the National Accounts" (with Berthold Herrendorf) CEPR Discussion Paper 16857, January 2022
"A Century of Super-rich Mortality"
"Markups, Input-Output Linkages, and Fixed Costs – Evidence from Advanced Economies" (with Berthold Herrendorf)
"Structural Transformation or Marketization? The Role of Household Production in Consumption Expenditure" (with Akos Valentinyi)
ervices into the BEA
Chapters in Edited Volumes
“Specific Trade Costs, Quality and Import Prices” in Measuring the Effects of Globalization: Better Statistics for Better Policy Vol. 1, S.N. Houseman and M.J. Mandel, eds. Upjohn Institute Press 2015, pp. 121-147.
Non-Refereed Publications
"Introducing Consumer Durable Digital Services into the BEA Digital Economy Satellite Account" (with Tina Highfill and Jon Samuels) Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 48(1), February 2024, Article 102618.
"A Disaggregated View of Household Production Trends" AEA Papers and Proceedings, Vol. 113, May 2023, pp. 619-22.
"Accounting for Household Production in the National Accounts: An Update, 1965–2020" (with Andrew Craig and Danit Kanal) Survey of Current Business, Vol. 102(2), February 2022, pp. 1-13.
“Accounting for Household Production in the National Accounts: An Update, 1965–2014” Survey of Current Business, Vol. 96(2), February 2016, pp. 1-5.
“BEA Statistics and New Indicators of Economic Condition” (with Bruce Grimm) Survey of Current Business, Vol. 95(5), May 2015, pp. 1-9.
“Accounting for Household Production in the National Accounts, 1965–2010” (with Andrew Dugan, Mikhael Lal, Matthew Osborne, and Shaunda Villones) Survey of Current Business, Vol. 92(5), May 2012, pp. 23-36.
“What do wages tell us about future inflation?" FRBSF Economic Letter 96-03, January 19, 1996. (with Bharat Trehan.)
Older Working Papers
"Falling Stars: Global Firms and Income Inequality in Golden Age Hollywood"
"Engines of Leisure" BEA Working Paper 2016-7.
Cartels Destroy Productivity: Evidence from the New Deal Sugar Manufacturing Cartel, 1934-74 (with Shi Qi and James Schmitz) FRB Minneapolis Staff Report 519.
“What Ever Happened to the Puerto Rican Sugar Manufacturing Industry?” (with Arilton Teixeira, Michael Maio and James A. Schmitz, Jr.) FRB Minneapolis Staff Report 477.
“The Economic Performance of Cartels: Evidence from the New Deal Sugar Manufacturing Cartel, 1934-74” (with Shi Qi and James A. Schmitz, Jr.) FRB Minneapolis Staff Report 437.
“Why do Ethnic Divisions Reduce Public Goods Provision?” (Circulated as “Multiethnic Democracy” LSU Working Paper 2004-02).
Teaching Experience
Department of Economics, Georgetown University.
Development Economics
Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.
Principles of Macroeconomics, International Finance and (graduate level) Topics in Macroeconomics.
Department of Economics, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Principles of Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, and Intermediate Microeconomics.
Presentations
2024: Stanford Digital Economy Lab; Derby Business School; Hitotsubashi University; Midwest Macro Meetings, Richmond; Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Barcelona.
2023: ASSA Meetings, New Orleans; International Industrial Organization Conference, Washington DC; ESCoE Economic Measurement Conference, London; Bureau of Labor Statistics; NBER/CRIW Summer Institute; I-85 Macro Conference, Richmond; Southern Economic Association, New Orleans; Online Economic History Workshop.
2022: Empirical Trade Online Seminar; Cal State Fullerton; Econometric Society NASM, Miami; LAEF Growth and Structural Transformation Conference, Santa Barbara; Economic Growth Conference in Memory and Honor of Berthold Herrendorf, Arizona State; Midwest Macro Meetings, Dallas; Southern Economic Association, Ft. Lauderdale.
2021: Econometric Society NASM, Montreal; Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Minneapolis; Virtual International Trade and Macroeconomics Seminar.
2020: Virginia Commonwealth University.
2019: Federal Trade Commission; Econometric Society NASM, Seattle; Midwest Macro Meetings, East Lansing.
2018: Midwest Macro Meetings, Madison; Bureau of Labor Statistics; Productivity Growth: Past, Present, and Future, Arizona State; Midwest Macro Meetings, Nashville.
2017: American University; University of Auckland; Econometric Society NASM, St. Louis; Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Edinburgh; Dallas Fed; Midwest Macro Meetings, Pittsburgh.
2016: St. Louis Fed; Conference on Structural Transformation, Arizona State; Workshop on Household Production and Time Allocation, Atlanta Fed; Econometric Society NASM, Philadelphia; Midwest Macro Meetings, Kansas City; Southern Economic Association, Washington DC.
2015: ASSA Meetings, Boston; Vanderbilt University; Midwest Macro Meetings, St. Louis; Econometric Society World Congress, Montreal.
2014: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Econometric Society NASM, Minneapolis; NBER/CRIW Summer Institute; Ohio State.
2013: Measuring the Effects of Globalization, Washington; Midwest Macro Meetings, Champaign IL; NBER/CRIW Summer Institute; George Washington University; Arizona State.
2012: International Industrial Organization Conference, Arlington, VA; Growth and Development Conference, Toronto; Econometric Society NASM, Evanston.
2011: Arizona State; Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Ghent; Midwest Macro Meetings, Nashville; Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; Federal Reserve Board; Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
2010: LAEF Growth and Development, Santa Barbara; Midwest International Economics Group, Madison; Midwest Macro Meetings, East Lansing; International Industrial Organization Conference, Vancouver.
2009: Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Istanbul; Econometrics Society NASM, Boston; International Industrial Organization Conference, Boston; Federal Reserve Board.
2008: George Washington University; Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Cambridge MA; Econometrics Society NASM, Pittsburgh; Second International Index Measures Congress, Arlington VA; Midwest Macro Meetings, Philadelphia.
Earlier: Association for Public Economic Theory, Nashville (7/07), Midwest International Economics Group, Lawrence KS (10/05), Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Budapest (6/05), Louisiana State University (4/05), Federal Reserve Board (1/04), Bureau of Economic Analysis (1/04), CNA Corporation (1/04), Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (4/03), Society for Economic Dynamics Annual Meetings, Stockholm (6/01), Midwest Macro Conference, Atlanta (4/01).
Referee Activities
American Economic Journal-Insights, American Economic Journal-Macroeconomics, American Economic Review, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economics, BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, BE Journal of Macroeconomics, Canadian Journal of Economics, Economic Inquiry, Economic Modelling, Economics Letters, Economic Systems Research, European Economic Review, International Economic Review, International Review of Economics and Finance, International Trade Journal, Journal of Applied Statistics, Journal of Business Cycle Research, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Journal of Economic Growth, Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Macroeconomics, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Productivity Analysis, Macroeconomic Dynamics, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economic Dynamics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Review of Economic Studies, Review of Income and Wealth, Review of International Economics, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Southern Economic Journal, World Development, The World Economy, Leverhulme Trust, National Science Foundation.
