Torsten Persson

Professor Torsten Persson is Professor of Economics at Stockholm University and Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics, and has held visiting positions at leading universities as Harvard, Princeton and Berkeley. Persson is the 2008 President of the Econometric Society, and was President of the European Economic Association in 2003. He is he 1997 winner of the Yrjo Jahnsson Medal for the best young economist in Europe, he is best known for his contributions to political economy. This work, much of it joint with Tabellini, includes theoretical and empirical analyses of (1) harmful effects of inequality on growth, (2) design of monetary and fiscal federal constitutions, and (3) effects of political institutions on economic outcomes. Persson’s work has spanned macroeconomics, international economics, and public economics, but he is most well-known for his articles and books on political economics. His current research focuses on development, civil war, and climate change.