Before beginning graduate school, Andrew Butters worked as an Associate Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
“I feel fortunate to have gotten that opportunity,” says Butters, who worked on the inflation and international memos for the Federal Open Market Committee meetings. He also helped create the National Financial Conditions Index.
“I got to see firsthand what being a research economist was all about,” he says. Given that his first month on the job was at the outset of the financial crisis (i.e., the Lehman Brothers collapse) that preceded the Great Recession, Butters got to work there when economic policy was at the forefront of the national conversation.
After graduating from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Butters joined the BEPP department in the summer of 2015.
“I remember vividly receiving the call from then department chair, John Maxwell, that the department was extending me an offer,” says Butter. “Unbeknownst to anyone here at the time, it also happened to be my birthday.”
At IU, Butters has taught both econometrics courses in the Business Analytics co-major (G350 and G492). He also teaches the first half of the Ph.D. econometrics sequence.
“As someone who conducts empirical research in economics, these courses have been a real treat to teach because there is so much overlap,” says Butters.
Assistant Professor Andrew Butters
On the research side of things, he’s primarily worked on issues that examine how firms and policymakers measure and make decisions in the face of fluctuations in business conditions, like demand. This has included examining how fluctuations in demand can impact our measures of productivity or dictate the degree of how much prices should fluctuate.
In the spring of 2022, Butters had a paper published in American Economic Review that examines how large national retailers like grocery chains respond to local changes in cost as it relates to their pricing decisions.
“This publication felt like hitting a home run in baseball,” says Butters. “What makes it even sweeter is that it was a joint effort with my colleagues in the department, Boyoung Seo and Daniel W. Sacks. So, I guess it was more like hitting a home run with the bases loaded!”
What he loves about working in the field of economics is how often the research that’s being done has immediate implications for businesses, households or policy.
“Doing research in a field that is so often contributing to policy debates and helping households and businesses is very rewarding,” he says.
Butters’ wife, Becca, works in the Communication, Professional & Computer Skills department teaching Business Presentations (C104). The couple has two children, Alden (4) and Ava (2), and a very patient dog, Darwin.
Butters enjoys golfing and cooking, and he’s always up for watching a basketball game at Assembly Hall. One reason hoops are near and dear to his heart is because he played on a collegiate national championship basketball team while he was at the London School of Economics during his junior year abroad.
“It was the British lower division championship, but who’s keeping track?” says Butters.
Down the road when he has additional free time, Butters would like to learn how to sail. For now, he’s just happy to be spending time at home as his family recently moved into a house with a pool.
“We want to enjoy as much time outside as we can,” he says.
He calls Indiana University a wonderful place to work because of the sense of community as well as the supportive environment to grow as a researcher and teacher.
“It also doesn’t hurt that it’s a beautiful campus with a vibrant culture, and some iconic venues to watch a sporting event,” he says.
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