Christopher Tonetti

Associate Professor of Economics
Botha-Chan Faculty Scholar for 2024–2025
Academic Area:

Bio

Christopher Tonetti is an associate professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. His research is in the area of macroeconomics, with a focus on growth, and household finance. Christopher received a BA in economics-mathematics from Columbia University and a PhD in economics from New York University.

Research Interests

  • Macroeconomics
  • Household Finance

Stanford GSB Affiliations

Stanford University Affiliations

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, Economics, New York University, 2013
  • BA, Economics-Mathematics, Columbia University, 2005

Academic Appointments

  • Associate Professor of Economics, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2017–present (tenured Sep 2021)
  • Assistant Professor of Economics, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2013–17
  • Peter B. Kenen Fellow, Visiting Research Scholar, Princeton University, 2018–19

Awards and Honors

  • Botha-Chan Faculty Scholar, 2023–24
  • Business School Trust Faculty Scholar, 2021–22
  • John A. Gunn and Cynthia Fry Gunn Faculty Scholar, 2020–21
  • Fletcher Jones Faculty Scholar, 2017–18
  • GSB Trust Faculty Fellow, 2015–16

Service to the Profession

    • Associate Editor, Review of Economic Dynamics

    Professional Experience

    • Research Associate — EFG, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2022–present (FRF 2015-2022)
    • Editor, Journal of Political Economy Macroeconomics, 2022–present
    • Associate Editor, Review of Economic Dynamics, 2020–22
    • Assistant Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2005–07

    Research Statement

    Christopher Tonetti is a macroeconomist with research in the areas of growth and household finance. His growth research focuses on how firms' investments in innovation and technology adoption contribute to aggregate growth. His recent research is on understanding the incentives and barriers that determine the diffusion of nonrival factors of production and production technologies (data and ideas). Recently he has studied the economics of consumer-generated data with an emphasis on property rights, incorporating concerns over privacy as well as the potentially productive use of data in innovation. He has also recently studied how changes in trade policy can alter the competitive environment and affect growth rates by altering the technology adoption patterns of firms. His household finance research focuses on the dynamics of household wealth, income, and consumption over the life cycle. His recent work studies the reasons for the saving and labor supply behavior of the elderly and their desire for insurance against late-in-life health and longevity risks.

    Journal Articles

    John Ameriks, Andrew Caplin, Minjoon Lee, Matthew D. Shapiro, Christopher Tonetti
    American Economic Review: Insights
    March 2023 Vol. 5 Issue 1 Pages 125–140
    Jess Benhabib, Jesse Perla, Christopher Tonetti
    Econometrica
    September 2021 Vol. 89 Issue 5 Pages 2261–2301
    Jesse Perla, Christopher Tonetti, Michael E. Waugh
    American Economic Review
    January 2021 Vol. 111 Issue 1 Pages 73–128
    Charles I. Jones, Christopher Tonetti
    American Economic Review
    September 2020 Vol. 110 Issue 9 Pages 2819-2858
    John Ameriks, Joseph Briggs, Andrew Caplin, Matthew Shapiro, Christopher Tonetti
    Journal of Political Economy
    June 2020 Vol. 128 Issue 6 Pages 2375-2451
    John Ameriks, Joseph Briggs, Andrew Caplin, Minjoon Lee, Matthew Shapiro, Christopher Tonetti
    American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
    2020 Vol. 12 Issue 1 Pages 174-209
    Taisuke Nakata, Christopher Tonetti
    Journal of Applied Economics
    2015 Vol. 18 Issue 1 Pages 122-148
    Jess Benhabib, Jesse Perla, Christopher Tonetti
    Journal of Economic Growth
    2014 Vol. 19 Issue 1 Pages 1-35
    Jesse Perla, Christopher Tonetti
    Journal of Political Economy
    2014 Vol. 122 Issue 1 Pages 52-76
    Leonardo Bartolini, Spence Hilton, Suresh Sundaresan, Christopher Tonetti
    Review of Financial Studies
    2011 Vol. 24 Issue 1 Pages 248-278

    Working Papers

    John Ameriks, Joseph Briggs, Andrew Caplin, Matthew D. Shapiro, Christopher Tonetti June 2018

    In the Media

    Insights by Stanford Business

    December 12, 2023
    ’Tis the season for personal and professional growth.
    May 22, 2023
    Investors know the risks of making financial mistakes as they get older, but also want to oversee their money for as long as possible.
    May 05, 2021
    Competition from imports pushes domestic laggards to adopt more efficient practices and technologies.
    November 19, 2018
    New research shows 40% of American retirees would prefer to be working.
    September 19, 2018
    In an ideal world, consumers would control the rights to their data but would also be able to sell it broadly.
    November 15, 2016
    Long-term care can be ruinously expensive, and the odds of needing it are high. So why don’t seniors buy insurance to cover it?
    December 15, 2014
    Learn more about risk and other related topics.
    July 23, 2014
    Technical innovation makes more sense for some countries and companies than others.