Rachel E. Kranton

Studies how institutions and the social setting affect economic outcomes. She develops theories of networks and introduced identity into economic thinking. In her book Identity Economics (2010), with George Akerlof, introduced a general framework to study social norms and identity in economics. Building on fifteen years of research, the book studies race, gender, and identity in schools and the workplace. In the economics of networks, she develops formal models of strategic interaction in different economic settings. Her work draws on empirical findings and integrates new mathematical tools to uncover how network structures influence economic outcomes. She also has a longstanding interest in development economics and institutions, focusing on the costs and benefits of networks and informal exchange, which is economic activity mediated by social relationships rather than markets.