Columbia Business School In the News

Professor Tomasz Piskorski is quoted.

Brett House, a Columbia University economist, is quoted in this AP piece running in The Boston Globe, "Investors prosper and consumers pay as the Iran war exacts an uneven economic toll 6 months in" (August 30, 2026). He's cited in the "Loser: Anyone on the move" section on airfares, saying fuel surcharges and higher ticket prices are unlikely to be rolled back soon because reduced airline competition and choice mean less pressure to bring fares back down.

Brett House, a Columbia University economist, is quoted in this AP piece running on Fortune, "Six months into the Iran war, the global economy has pulled off a 'Mission Impossible' scene, and the Trump family is among the winners" (August 30, 2026). He's cited in the "Loser: Anyone on the move" section on airfares, saying fuel surcharges and higher ticket prices are unlikely to be rolled back soon because reduced airline competition and choice mean less pressure to bring fares back down.

Brett House, a Columbia University economist, is quoted in this AP piece running on ABC News, "Investors prosper and consumers pay as the Iran war exacts an uneven economic toll 6 months in" (August 30, 2026). He's cited in the "Loser: Anyone on the move" section on airfares, saying fuel surcharges and higher ticket prices are unlikely to be rolled back soon because reduced airline competition and choice mean less pressure to bring fares back down.

Brett House, an economics professor at Columbia Business School, is quoted in this CNBC piece, "Bond yields are climbing. Here's what that means for mortgages and other consumer borrowing" (August 18, 2026). He's cited on how rising Treasury yields feed through to consumer borrowing costs, noting that many rates pass through to consumers almost immediately since variable and some fixed-rate loans reset daily.

Professor Tomasz Piskorski is quoted.

Professor Tomasz Piskorksi is quoted.

Brett House, an economics professor at Columbia Business School, is quoted throughout this Yahoo Finance piece, "Inflation check: Even with gas prices coming down, overall costs will be slower to retreat" (June 29, 2026). He explains that prices tend to fall more slowly than they rise, that cheaper oil entering the supply chain will take time to show up in consumer energy and fuel prices, and that getting inflation the rest of the way down to the Fed's 2% target is typically the hardest part of the process.

Columbia Business School's Professor Brett House was quoted in Yahoo Finance discussing why overall consumer prices are likely to retreat more slowly than they rose, even as oil prices ease from wartime highs. In the piece, House notes that cheaper crude will take time to work its way through to lower gas and energy prices at the consumer level, and he expects headline inflation to ebb only gradually later this year, still short of the Fed's 2% target. He also points to travel costs, fertilizer prices, and mortgage rates as other war-affected areas likely to normalize slowly, cautioning that closing the final gap to the Fed's inflation target is typically the hardest part of the process.

Columbia Business School's Professor Brett House was quoted in The New York Times examining the lag between falling crude prices and relief at the gas pump following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. In the piece, House cautions that U.S. drivers are unlikely to see immediate price relief despite Brent crude falling to prewar levels, even as the country heads into peak summer driving season. He points to the depletion of the government's oil reserves during the conflict as a key factor constraining how quickly lower crude costs will translate into cheaper gasoline for consumers.

Columbia Business School's Professor Brett House was quoted in Forbes Daily assessing new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's first major test amid pressure over interest rates and central bank independence. In the piece, House argues that Warsh's legacy will ultimately hinge on whether he preserves the Fed's independence, hits the 2% inflation target, and maintains financial stability, rather than on whether he delivers the rate cuts the White House has been pushing for.

Brett House, an economist at Columbia Business School, is quoted in the AP/Washington Post piece "Higher prices for gas, groceries and flights will likely outlast the Iran war" (June 16, 2026). He says it's not clear the war achieved anything to make American consumers better off, and argues the world is worse off overall. He's also quoted separately predicting airfares won't drop this summer.

Brett House, an economist at Columbia Business School, is quoted in this AP piece running on PBS NewsHour, "Higher prices for gas, groceries and flights will outlast Iran war, analysts say" (June 16, 2026). He says it's not clear the war achieved anything to make American consumers better off, and argues the world is worse off overall. He's also quoted separately predicting airfares won't drop this summer.

Expertise in credit rating agencies, private credit markets, insurance regulation, and the measurement of credit risk. Our research shows that private ratings are systematically more inflated and less accurate than public ratings, allowing credit risk to be understated in regulated insurance portfolios. .faculty-items { display: grid; } @media (min-width: 1024px) { .faculty-items { grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr); } } .m-listing-faculty, .m-listing-pgprofile { flex-direction: column; }

Professor Tomasz Piskorski is quoted.

Columbia Business School's Professor Brett House was quoted in USA Today analyzing how Spirit Airlines' collapse is reshaping the U.S. aviation industry. In the piece, House notes that Spirit's exit has increased industry concentration, and warns the shift will be net negative for consumers as reduced competition pushes average fares higher than they would otherwise be. His comments frame a broader look at how JetBlue and Frontier have moved to backfill Spirit's former routes, while millions of seats and several small-airport routes remain unreplaced.

Columbia Business School's Professor Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh and NYU Stern's Professor Arpit Gupta were featured in a Bloomberg Opinion column examining the post-pandemic urban doom loop — a concept Van Nieuwerburgh coined and introduced in the landmark paper "Work from Home and the Office Real Estate Apocalypse," now published in the American Economic Review. In the piece, Van Nieuwerburgh warns that New York City faces deep fiscal trouble, citing an effective doubling of office property tax rates and no clear path to financial health. Gupta traces the historical roots of urban flight while noting encouraging signs in New York's office-to-apartment conversion pace. Both researchers see the doom loop as a continuing risk, driven by falling commercial real estate values, shrinking tax revenues, and the enduring shift to remote work — and underscore that while the economic fixes may be straightforward, the political will to implement them remains the critical missing ingredient.

Columbia Business School’s Professor Brett House authored an op-ed in Maclean’s analyzing Canada’s Canada Strong Fund (CSF). In the piece, House explores whether the $25-billion fund—a government initiative to retain capital and investment in Canadian companies—can effectively address the country’s economic challenges. He highlights concerns about the fund’s structure, its reliance on government borrowing, and its potential to keep Canadian businesses from seeking foreign investment. House also emphasizes the need for broader reforms in trade, immigration, and procurement to complement the CSF’s goals.

Columbia Business School’s Professor Michael Ewens provided commentary to PitchBook on the resurgence of venture-backed IPO activity. In the article by Michael Bodley and Kia Kokalitcheva, Professor Ewens discussed how IPO momentum is returning unevenly across sectors, reflecting shifting investor appetite and market conditions. He highlighted the dynamics shaping exit opportunities for startups in today’s financial environment.