Faculty
Christopher Palmer is an Associate Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management where he teaches corporate finance. His research focuses on how credit, real estate, and labor markets respond to periods of significant upheaval.
Palmer is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and an Affiliate with the Jameel Poverty Action Lab. He previously taught real estate finance at the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Business School and the Federal Reserve Banks of New York, Boston, and San Francisco. Prior to graduate school, he consulted with Compass-Lexecon.
Palmer holds a BA in economics and mathematics from Brigham Young University and a PhD in economics from MIT.
Current Research Focus: Palmer's research focuses on financial decision-making. His current research projects evaluate policies designed improve retirement savings and reform the personal bankruptcy system.
Palmer, Christopher J. The Journal of Finance. Forthcoming. Code. Download Preprint.
Liu, Haoyang and Christopher John Palmer. Journal of Financial Economics. Forthcoming. Download Preprint.
Byrne, Shane, Kenneth Devine, Michael King,Yvonne McCarthy, and Christopher John Palmer. Journal of Finance. Forthcoming. Download Preprint.
Argyle, Bronson, Sasha Indarte, Benjamin Iverson, and Christopher John Palmer, Working Paper. March 2025. Race Imputation Code Readme. Race Imputation Code. Slides. Knowledge at Wharton.
Choukhmane, Taha and Christopher John Palmer, Working Paper. October 2024.
Bergman, Peter, Raj Chetty, Stefanie DeLuca, Nathaniel Hendren, Lawrence F. Katz, and Christopher John Palmer. American Economic Review Vol. 114, No. 5 (2024): 1281-1337. Vox. City Lab. NY Times. Econimatevideo. The Hill Op Ed. AEA RCT Registry. Slides. Non-technical Summary. NPR.
When employers hold back wages for retirement savings, younger consumers and less-wealthy people cut their spending. Wealthier individuals tap their deposit accounts.
Bankruptcy is designed to give distressed Americans a fresh financial start, but new research shows that Black filers are more likely to have their cases dismissed than whites filers.
"The goal has to be retirement preparedness that also is financial resilience, having the money to pay for your car if it breaks down."
"It is fantastic for current renters who basically have this wonderful insurance against very high rent increases in the future."
Chris Palmer talks about the effects of rent control in Cambridge during its 25-year implementation and in the aftermath of its repeal.
This immersive, five-day experience on the MIT campus features dynamic faculty from the MIT Center for Real Estate and MIT Sloan, plus visits to cutting-edge research labs and innovative workspaces.
