Economics
Larry Summers Talks Inflation at Harvard IOP Forum
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers discussed his concerns about the continued risk of inflation for the global economy at a Harvard Institute of Politics forum Thursday evening.
Opportunity Insights Study Shows Link Between Social Capital and Economic Mobility
A paper published last month by a Harvard-affiliated economic research group found new links between social connections and economic mobility.
U.S. Representative Ro Khanna Discusses Big Tech at Harvard IOP Forum
United States Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) spoke about the role of technology in the future of the American economy while discussing his new book at a Harvard Institute of Politics forum on Monday evening.
Harvard Kennedy School Receives $5 Million for New Economic Inequality Program
The Harvard Kennedy School announced it received a $5 million gift from the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation to establish a new program that will study wealth inequality on Monday.
IOP Forum with Graham Allison, Keyu Jin, Kelly Sims Gallagher, and Lawrence H. Summers
Graham Allison and Kelly Sims Gallagher discussed Chinese economics with Keyu Jin and Lawrence H. Summers, who joined the talk virtually.
HKS Professors Awarded $7.5 Million Grant To Establish Research Initiative
Dani Rodrik ’79 and Gordon H. Hanson, two Harvard Kennedy School Economics professors, received a $7.5 million grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to establish the Reimagining the Economy Project, the foundation announced Wednesday.
World Bank Chief Economist Discusses Post-Pandemic Economic Challenges at IOP
World Bank Group Chief Economist Carmen M. Reinhart discussed the effects of post-pandemic debt and inflation on emerging markets during the Institute of Politics’s Gordon Lecture at the JFK Jr. Forum on Wednesday.
Experts Talk the Economics of Diversity at Kennedy School Conference
Economists and race relations experts convened to discuss the economic repercussions of structural racism in America and the need for continued workplace diversity Friday at the Kennedy School’s Ash Center.
Three Economists With Harvard Ties Awarded Nobel Prize
Three U.S.-based professors with Harvard ties received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday for their work on minimum wage and natural experiments.
Nobel Prize
David E. Card, who was also an expert witness in Harvard's college admissions lawsuit, was one of the recipients of the Nobel Prize in Economics this year.
Harvard Kennedy School Professor Marcella Alsan Wins MacArthur Grant
Marcella M. Alsan is the Kennedy School’s first female MacArthur Fellow and the sole Harvard faculty member among this year’s 25 recipients.
Penny Pritzker ’81 Donates $100 Million for New Economics Department Building
Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and business leader Penny S. Pritzker ’81 donated $100 million to the Economics Department to support the construction of a new department building, Harvard announced Tuesday morning.
Harvard Restores Prof. Fryer’s Teaching, Research Roles After Two-Year Sexual Harassment Suspension
Economics professor Roland G. Fryer Jr. will be allowed to return to teaching and research roles at Harvard this week after a two-year suspension for violating Faculty of Arts and Sciences sexual harassment policies.
Economics Professor Isaiah Andrews Awarded Clark Medal
Professor of Economics Isaiah S. Andrews won the John Bates Clark Medal earlier this month for his contributions to the field of econometrics.
‘Single Biggest Beneficiary’: Allston Residents, Elected Officials Weigh in on Funding for the Massachusetts Turnpike
As questions arise over funding for the Massachusetts Turnpike project in Allston, state officials and local residents said they are considering residents’ quality of life along with the project’s funding sources and biggest beneficiaries.
Economics Remains Most Popular Concentration for Class of 2023
Economics remained the most popular concentration for the Class of 2023, with 186 declared sophomores. Computer Science and Government also retained the second and third spots, with 120 and 111 declared sophomore concentrators, respectively.
Richard Cooper, Longtime Harvard Economist and Public Servant, Dies at 86
Richard N. Cooper — who taught international economics at Harvard starting in 1981 and served in four different U.S. presidential administrations — died of lymphoma on Dec. 23 at age 86 at his home in Cambridge.
President-elect Joe Biden Nominates Harvard Affiliates to Top Executive Positions
President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has appointed several Harvard affiliates to serve on his cabinet, including former assistant professor Janet L. Yellen, Harvard College alumni Antony J. Blinken ’84, Vivek H. Murthy ’98, and Medical School professor Rochelle P. Walensky.
MacArthur ‘Genius’ Andrews Lauded for ‘Ridiculous Smarts,’ ‘Ridiculous Amount of Kindness’
Andrews was named a 2020 MacArthur Fellow in October, receiving $625,000 for his work overcoming statistical inference problems in empirical economics. The grant itself gives him flexibility to take more unpaid leave and focus on research, Andrews explained, but it is also a tremendous honor in its own right.
Former IMF Official Presents Two Paths for ‘New Normal’ in Post-Pandemic Global Finance
Former International Monetary Fund and French Treasury official Jean-Pierre Landau laid out two potential paths to confront the pandemic’s effects on global finance in a webinar hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School Wednesday evening.
Harvard Economics Professor Isaiah Andrews Wins MacArthur Grant
Harvard Economics professor Isaiah S. Andrews was one of 21 recipients of a 2020 MacArthur Fellowship, the MacArthur Foundation announced on Tuesday.
Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Michael Kremer Departs Harvard for Chicago
Harvard Economics professor Michael R. Kremer ’85, one of the recipients of the 2019 Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences, is leaving Cambridge to direct a new Development Innovation Lab at the University of Chicago.
Alberto Alesina, Prolific Econ. Professor Who ‘Made the Whole Program More Human,’ Dies at 63
Several colleagues agreed that Alberto Alesina’s warmth and humility pervaded the Economics Department at Harvard, where he had been a faculty member since 1988 and served as chair from 2003 to 2006.