John A. List
An economist who took experiments out of the lab and into the real world, revolutionizing how we understand human behavior and markets.
Born 1968 (age 58)·American economist·Birthday: September 25·Generation X
Biography
John List challenged the dusty conventions of economics by asking simple, profound questions and then going out to find the answers in the field. Frustrated by theories untested in the real world, he pioneered the use of large-scale, controlled experiments in everyday settings—from baseball card shows to school fundraising drives. His work provided hard evidence on everything from charitable giving and discrimination to the gender pay gap, fundamentally shifting how economists gather data and validate ideas. Currently a leading figure at the University of Chicago, List's insistence on empirical rigor has made him a central architect of modern behavioral and experimental economics, proving that the most valuable laboratory is the world itself.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
John was born in 1968, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When John Was Born
The biggest hits of 1968
#1 Movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
Best Picture
Oliver!
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
John's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1968Born
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1973Started school
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1981Became a teenager
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Could drive
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1986Could vote
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1989Turned 21
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1998Turned 30
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 40
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 50
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 58 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Pioneered the use of field experiments as a core methodology in economics, moving research beyond theory and lab settings.
- Served as Chairman of the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago from 2012 to 2018.
- Was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011.
- His research on the 'gender gap' in competitive settings using data from a Dutch game show is widely cited.
Did You Know?
Before becoming an economist, he was a professional golfer and once caddied on the PGA Tour.
He conducted a famous field experiment on charitable giving using a door-to-door fundraising campaign.
List has served as a visiting professor at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, focusing on the economics of fundraising.
He grew up in a small town in Wisconsin and was the first in his family to attend college.
“If you want to know why people behave the way they do, you have to look at their incentives.”
