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Nathan Nunn, 2021-08-13Nathan NunnDepartment of EconomicsHarvard UniversityLittauer Center, 1805 Cambridge StreetCambridge, MA 02138Phone: 617-496-4958Email: [email protected]: y of British Columbia, Vancouver School of EconomicsVisiting Professor: 2021-2022Harvard University, Department of EconomicsFrederic E. Abbe Professor of Economics: 2016Professor: 2012-2016Paul Sack Associate Professor of Political Economy: 2011-2012Assistant Professor: July 2007-2011Stanford University, Department of EconomicsVictor Trione Visiting Professor: 2009-2010University of British Columbia, Department of EconomicsAssistant Professor: 2005-2007Other AffiliationsCanadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Fellow of the Boundaries, Membership, andBelonging Program.National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Research Associate (DAE, DEV, ITI, POL)Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), FellowHarvard University Academy for International and Area Studies, Senior ScholarHarvard University Center for International Development (CID), Faculty Affiliate and AdvisoryCouncil MemberHarvard University Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA), Faculty Associate andExecutive Committee MemberHarvard University Center for African Studies (CAS), Faculty Affiliate and Executive CommitteeMember1
Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE), Faculty AssociateEducationPhD, Economics, University of Toronto, 2005MA, Economics, University of Toronto, 2000BA, Economics, Simon Fraser University, 1998Research Awards and HonorsJan Soderberg Family Prize in Economics and Management, 2020.Weatherhead Center Research Grant, Harvard University, 2020, “Age Sets and Accountability:Evidence from the DRC,” (with Sara Lowes, Eduardo Montero, and James A. Robinson)Russell Sage Foundation Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration Program Grant, 2020. “Immigrants,Economic Mobility, and Support for Redistribution,” (with Alberto Alesina, Sandra Sequeira, andStefanie Stancheva).Pershing Square Venture Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior. 2020. “Conflictand Prosociality: Panel Evidence Beyond the In-Group,” (with Sara Lowes, James A. Robinson, andJonathan Weigel).Pershing Square Venture Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior. 2019. “AgeOrganization and Accountability: Evidence from the DRC,” (with Sara Lowes, Eduardo Montero,and James A. Robinson).Pershing Square Venture Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior. 2019.“Examining the Lasting Consequences of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921,” (with Alex Albright andJames Feigenbaum).Pershing Square Venture Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior. 2019.“Immigrants and the American Dream,” (with Alberto Alesina, Sandra Sequeira, and StefanieStantcheva).Harvard Inequality in America Initiative, 2019. “Examining the Lasting Consequences of the TulsaRace Massacre of 1921,” (with Alex Albright and James Feigenbaum).Harvard Inequality in America Initiative, 2019. “Immigrants, Economic Mobility, and Support forRedistribution,” (with Alberto Alesina, Sandra Sequeira, and Stefanie Stancheva).John Templeton Foundation, 2019. “Religion as a Source of Social and Moral Development:Evidence from the Pentecostal Revolution in Africa,” (with Clara Sievert and Jonathan Weigel)National Science Foundation DRMS and Political Science Grant, 2018. “Stress and in-GroupPreference: Experimental Evidence from Kenya,” (with Johannes Haushofer and Sara Lowes).2
Nathan Nunn, 2021-08-13DFID RA4, 2017. “Age Sets, Accountability, and Public Goods Provision: Evidence from the DRC,”(with Sara Lowes, Eduardo Montero, and James A. Robinson).J-PAL Governance Initiative, 2016. “Age Sets, Accountability, and Public Goods Provision:Evidence from the DRC,” (with Sara Lowes, Eduardo Montero, and James A. Robinson).Russell Sage Foundation Immigration Program Grant, 2014. “Migrants and the Making of America,”(with Nancy Qian and Sandra Sequeira).Pershing Square Venture Fund for Research on the Foundations of Human Behavior. 2014. “TheEvolution of Culture and Institutions: Evidence from the Kuba Kingdom,” (with James A. Robinson).National Science Foundation IBSS Grant, 2014. “The Evolution of Culture and Institutions: Evidencefrom the Kuba Kingdom,” (with Joseph Henrich and James A. Robinson).IPUMS-International Research Award, 2014. For “On the Origins of Gender Roles: Women and thePlough,” published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics.Weatherhead Conference Grant, Harvard University, 2014-2015, “Africa’s Development inHistorical Perspective,” (with Emmanuel Akyeampong, Robert Bates, and James A. Robinson).Weatherhead Center Research Grant, Harvard University, 2013, “The Impact of Fair TradeCertification,” (with Raluca Dragusanu).Milton Fund, Harvard University, 2013, “The Impacts of Fair Trade Certification on Farmers in LatinAmerica,” (with Raluca Dragusanu),Emerald Management Reviews 2011 Citation of Excellence Award for “Relationship-Specificity,Incomplete Contracts, and the Pattern of Trade,” published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics.Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, 2009-2011.Weatherhead Initiative Award, 2008, “Understanding African Poverty over the Longue Duree” (withEmmanuel Akyeampong, Robert Bates, and James A. Robinson).NBER Africa Project Grant, 2008, “The Determinants of Food Aid Provision to Africa and the Restof the Developing World” (with Nancy Qian).Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), 2006, “An Examination ofWhy History Matters in Africa.”Working Papers“Transhumant Pastoralism, Climate Change, and Conflict in Africa,” (with Eoin McGuirk).“After the Burning: The Economic Effects of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre,” (with Alex Albright, Jeremy3
Cook, James Feigenbaum, Laura Kincaide, and Jason Long).“The Effects of Fair Trade Certification: Evidence from Coffee Producers in Costa Rica,” (withRaluca Dragusanu and Eduardo Montero), revision resubmitted, Journal of the EuropeanEconomics Association.“Tradtional Supernatural Beliefs and Prosocial Behavior,” (with Etienne Le Rossignol and SaraLowes)“Age Sets and Accountability,” (with Sara Lowes, Eduardo Montero, and James A. Robinson).“Distrust and Political Turnover,” (with Nancy Qian and Jaya Wen).“The Long-Run Effects of Agricultural Productivity on Conflict, 1400-1900,” (with Nancy Qian andMurat Iyigun).Journal Articles“Understanding Cultural Persistence and Change,” (with Paola Giuliano), Review of EconomicStudies, 2021, Vol 88, No. 4, pp. 1541-1581.“Segmentary Lineage Organization and Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa,” (with Jacob Moscona andJames A. Robinson), Econometrica, 2020, Vol. 88, No. 5, pp. 1999-2036.“Immigrants and the Making of America,” (with Sandra Sequeira and Nancy Qian), Review ofEconomic Studies, 2020, Vol. 87, No. 1, pp. 382-419.“The Historical Roots of Economic Development,” Science, 2020, Vol. 367, No. 6485, eaaz9986.“Bride Price and Female Education,” (with Nava Ashraf, Natalie Bau, and Alessandra Voena),Journal of Political Economy, 2020, Vol. 128, No. 2, pp. 591-641.“Innis Lecture: Rethinking Economic Development,” Canadian Journal of Economics, 2019, Vol.52, No. 4, pp. 1349-1373.“The Genetic Legacy of State Centralization in the Kuba Kingdom of the Democratic Republic of theCongo,” (with Lucy van Dorp et al.) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS),2019, Vol. 116, No. 2, pp. 593-598.“Ancestral Characteristics of Modern Populations,” (with Paola Giuliano), Economic History ofDeveloping Regions, 2018, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 1-17.“Traditional Agricultural Practices and the Sex Ratio Today,” (with Alberto Alesina and PaolaGiuliano) PLoS ONE, 2018, Vol. 13, No. 1, e0190510.“The Evolution of Culture and Institutions: Evidence from the Kuba Kingdom” (with Sara Lowes,James A. Robinson, and Jonathan Weigel), Econometrica, 2017, Vol. 85, No. 4, pp. 1065-1091.“Why Being Wrong can be Right: Magical Warfare Technologies and the Persistence of FalseBeliefs,” (with Raul Sanchez de la Sierra), American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings,4
Nathan Nunn, 2021-08-132017, Vol. 107, No. 5, pp. 582-587.“Keeping It in the Family: Lineage Organization and the Scope of Trust in Sub-Saharan Africa,”(with Jacob Moscona and James A. Robinson), American Economic Review Papers andProceedings, 2017, Vol. 107, No. 5, pp. 565-571.“Understanding Ethnic Identity in Africa: Evidence from the Implicit Association Test (IAT),” (withSara Lowes, James A. Robinson, and Jonathan Weigel), American Economic Review Papers andProceedings, 2015, Vol. 105, No. 5, pp. 340-345.“U.S. Food Aid and Civil Conflict,” (with Nancy Qian), American Economic Review, 2014, Vol.104, No. 6, pp. 1630-1666.“The Economics of Fair Trade,” (with Raluca Dragusanu and Daniele Giovannucci), Journal ofEconomic Perspectives, 2014, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 217-236.“Commercial Imperialism? Political Influence and Trade during the Cold War,” (with Daniel Berger,William Easterly, and Shanker Satyanath), American Economic Review, 2013, Vol. 103, No. 2, pp.863-896.“On the Origins of Gender Roles: Women and the Plough,” (with Alberto Alesina and PaolaGiuliano), Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2013, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 469-530.“Incomplete Contracts and the Boundaries of the Multinational Firm,” (with Daniel Trefler), Journalof Economic Behavior and Organization, 2013, Vol. 94, No. 1, pp. 330-344.“The Transmission of Democracy: From the Village to the Nation State,” (with Paola Giuliano),American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 2013, Vol. 103, No. 3, pp. 86-92.“Ruggedness: The Blessing of Bad Geography in Africa,” (with Diego Puga), Review of Economicsand Statistics, 2012, Vol. 94, No. 1, pp. 20-36.“Culture and the Historical Process,” Economic History of Developing Regions, 2012, Vol. 27,Supplement 1, pp. 108-126.“The Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in Africa,” (with Leonard Wantchekon), AmericanEconomic Review, 2011, Vol. 101, No. 7, pp. 3221-3252.ooReprinted in E. Spolaore (ed.), Culture and Economic Growth, Cheltenham, UK: EdwardElgar Publishing, 2014.Reprinted in N. Cheeseman (ed.), African Politics. Volume 1: Africa and the World:Sovereignty, Dependency, and Extraversion, Routledge, 2016.“The Potato's Contribution to Population and Urbanization: Evidence from a Historical Experiment,”(with Nancy Qian), Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2011, Vol. 126, No. 2, pp. 593-650.“Fertility and the Plough,” (with Alberto Alesina and Paola Giuliano), American Economic ReviewPapers and Proceedings, 2011, Vol. 101, No. 3, pp. 499-503.5
“The Structure of Tariffs and Long-Term Growth,” (with Daniel Trefler), American EconomicJournal: Macroeconomics, 2010, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 158-194.“The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas,” (with Nancy Qian), Journal ofEconomic Perspectives, 2010, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 163-188.“Religious Conversion in Colonial Africa,” American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings,2010, Vol. 100, No. 2, pp. 147-152.oReprinted in P. Oslington (ed.), Recent Developments in the Economics of Religion,Volume II, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018.“The Importance of History for Economic Development,” Annual Review of Economics, 2009, Vol.1, No. 1, pp. 65-92.“The Long-Term Effects of Africa’s Slave Trades,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2008, Vol.123, No. 1, pp. 139-176.“Relationship-Specificity, Incomplete Contracts, and the Pattern of Trade,” Quarterly Journal ofEconomics, 2007, Vol. 122, No. 2, pp. 569-600.oReprinted in D. Bernhofen (ed.), Empirical International Trade, Cheltenham, UK: EdwardElgar Publishing, 2010.“Historical Legacies: A Model Linking Africa’s Past to its Current Underdevelopment,” Journal ofDevelopment Economics, 2007, Vol. 83, No. 1, pp. 157-175.BooksAfrica’s Development in Historical Perspective, (with Emmanuel Akyeampong, Robert H. Bates,and James A. Robinson), Cambridge University Press, 2014.Book Chapters“History as Evolution,” in Alberto Bisin and Giovanni Federico (eds.), Handbook of HistoricalEconomics, pp. 41-91. North Holland, 2021.“On the Causes and Consequences of Cross-Cultural Differences: An Economic Perspective,” inMichele Gelfand, Chi-yue Chiu, and Ying-yi Hong (eds.), Advances in Culture and Psychology,Oxford University Press, forthcoming.“Bride Price and the Wellbeing of Women,” (with Sara Lowes), in Siwan Anderson, Lori Beamanand Jean Philippe-Platteau (eds.), Towards Gender Equity in Development, pp. 117-138. OxfordUniversity Press, 2018.“The Determinants of Food Aid Provisions to African and the Developing World,” (with NancyQian), in Sebastian Edwards, Simon Johnson, and David N. Weil (eds.), African Successes, VolumeIV: Sustainable Growth, pp. 161-178. University of Chicago Press, 2016.“Historical Development,” in Philippe Aghion and Steven Durlauf (eds.), Handbook of Economic6
Nathan Nunn, 2021-08-13Growth, Volume 2A, pp. 347-402. North Holland, 2014.“Domestic Institutions as a Source of Comparative Advantage,” (with Daniel Trefler), in ElhananHelpman, Gita Gopinath, and Kenneth Rogoff (eds.), Handbook of International Economics,Volume 4, pp. 263-315. North Holland, 2014.“Gender and Missionary Influence in Colonial Africa,” in Emmanuel Akyeampong, Robert Bates,Nathan Nunn and James A. Robinson (eds.), Africa’s Development in Historical Perspective, pp.489-512. Cambridge University Press, 2014.“Shackled to the Past: The Causes and Consequences of Africa’s Slave Trades,” in Jared Diamondand James A. Robinson (eds.), Natural Experiments of History, pp. 142-184. Harvard UniversityPress, 2010.“The Boundaries of the Multinational Firm: An Empirical Analysis,” (with Daniel Trefler), inElhanan Helpman, Dalia Marin, and Thierry Verdier (eds.), The Organization of Firms in a GlobalEconomy, pp. 55-83. Harvard University Press, 2008.“Slavery, Inequality, and Economic Development in the Americas: An Examination of theEngerman-Sokoloff Hypothesis,” in Elhanan Helpman (ed.), Institutions and EconomicPerformance, pp. 148-180. Harvard University Press, 2008.Seminar and Conference Presentations for Recent Papers“Transhumant Pastoralism, Climate Change, and Conflict in Africa” Harvard University Economic History Workshop (February, 2021); Oz Virtual Econ ResearchSeminar (March 2021); University of Manchester (April 2021); Economic Research SourthernAfrica, ERSA (May 2021); University of Chicago Booth Workshop (May 2021); Notre Dame(May 2021); Spatial Economic Effects of Conflict Workshop (George Washington University,June 2021).“Traditional Supernatural Beliefs and Prosocial Behavior” Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC, September2020); Stanford University (Palo Alto, October 2020); Political Economy, Cultural Economicsand Gender Conference (ENS de Lyon and CEPR, June 2021).“Distrust and Political Turnover” Clark University (Worcester, MA, April 2019); Kellogg-Harvard Conference on the PoliticalEconomy of Development (Evanston, IL, May 2019).“Kinship and Conflict: Evidence from Segmentary Lineage Societies in Sub-Saharan Africa”7
Simon Fraser University (Burnaby, BC, September 2017); University of Connecticut (Mansfield,CT, October 2017); University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC, October 2017); M.I.T.(Cambridge, November 2017); University of Minnesota (Saint Paul, MN, November 2017);Zurich Workshop on The Origins and Consequences of Group Identities (Zurich, Switzerland,December 2017); NBER Cultural Economics Meeting (Cambridge, MA, April 2018); WorldEconomic History Congress (Cambridge, MA, August 2018); Business and Fragile StatesConference, London Business School’s Wheeler Institute for Business and Development(London, England, October 2018); Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (Santiago de Chile,Chile, December 2018); Broom Center for Demography, University of California Santa Barbara(Santa Barbara, March 2019); Ottawa University (Ottawa, Canada, March 2019).“Understanding Cultural Persistence and Change” The Role of History and Diversity in Understanding Development Conference (Moscow, October2015); Arizona State University, School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Phoenix,March 2016); Stockholm University (October 2016); Stanford University (Palo Alto, December2016); Brandeis University (Waltham, March 2017); Tufts University (Medford, MA, March2017); Georgetown University (Washington, DC, April 2017); ERINN Conference (Washington,DC, April 2017); Indiana University Bloomington (Bloomington, April 2017); University ofChicago Harris School of Public Policy (Chicago, April 2017); University of Zurich DepartmentSeminar (Zurich, Switzerland, May 2017); Harvard-M.I.T. Development Seminar (Cambridge,September 2017); University of British Columbia, Department of Psychology (Vancouver, BC,October 2017); NBER Political Economy Meeting (Cambridge, MA, November 2017);University of Bonn, BRIQ (Bonn, December 2017); Henan University (Kaifeng, China, May2018); World Economic History Congress (Cambridge, MA, July 2018); Syracuse University(Syracuse, NY, September 2018); Trinity College Dublin (Dublin, Ireland, May 2019); TsinghuaUniversity (Beijing, October 2020); New Economic School (Moscow, December 2020); M.I.T.IDSS Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series (Cambridge, January 2021).“Bride Price and Female Education” UNU-WIDER Gender and Development Project Kick-Off Conference (Helsinki, Finland, May2015); M.I.T. and Harvard, Seminar on Positive Political Economy (Cambridge, March 2016);Columbia University (New York, April 2016); Economics and Political Economy of Africa(Washington, DC, April 2016); Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, September 2016); WorldEconomic History Congress (Cambridge, MA, July 2018).“Immigrants and the Making of America” The Long Shadow of History Conference, Center for Advanced Studies (Munich, Germany,November 2014); New York University (New York, January 2017); Inter-AmericanDevelopment Bank (Washington D.C., December 2019).“The Evolution of Culture and Institutions: Evidence from the Kuba Kingdom” Northwestern University (Evanston, November 2013); 15th Annual NBER Neemrana Conference(India, December 2013); Boston College (Chestnut Hill, March 2014); Conference on Legal8
Nathan Nunn, 2021-08-13Innovations: Law, Economics and Governance, Columbia University (New York, April 2014);World Bank (Washington, D.C., April 2014); Stanford University (Palo Alto, May 2014);University of Colorado, Boulder and Denver (Boulder, September 2014); Institute for AdvancedStudies (IAS), Ideas, Institutions, and Political Economy Workshop (Princeton, October 2014);University of California Berkeley, Agricultural and Resource Economics (Berkeley, November2014); AEA Annual Meetings (Boston, January 2014); African Economic Development: Past,Present, and Future, Harvard University (Cambridge, April 2015); Deep-Rooted Factors inComparative Economic Development, Brown University (Providence, May 2015); OxfordUniversity, Center for the Studies of African Economies (Oxford, UK, May 2015); RANDInternational Development Speaker Series (IDSS) (Santa Monica, May 2015); Boston University(Boston, November 2015); University of Calgary, Distinguished Lecture (Calgary, March 2016);NBER Culture and Institutions Workshop (Cambridge, April 2016); George Mason University(Fairfax, VA, April 2016); University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business(Philadelphia, April 2016); Oliver Williamson Seminar on Institutional Analysis (Berkeley, May2016), University of Copenhagen (May, 2016); Sciences Po (Paris, September 2016); Universityof Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago, November 2016).“The Impacts of Fair Trade Certification: Evidence from Coffee Producers in Costa Rica” NBER Summer Institute 2013 International Trade and Investment (Cambridge, July 2013);M.I.T. Trade Seminar (Cambridge, October 2013); LACEA-IDB TIGN Annual Conference(Santiago de Chile, May 2014); Inter-American Development Bank (Washington D.C.,November 2017); Economics of Social Sector Organizations Conference (Chicago, November2018); AEA Annual Meetings (Atlanta, January 2019); Online Geneva Trade and DevelopmentWorkshop (May 2021).“Ancestral Characteristics of Modern Populations” AEA Annual Meetings (San Diego, January 2013); University of California Los Angeles (LosAngeles, March 2013); World Economic History Congress (Cambridge, MA, August 2018).Public or Keynote PresentationsTranshumant Pastoralism, Climate Change, and Conflict in AfricaResearch Institute for Development, Growth and Economics, Towards Sustainable GrowthWorkshop, December 10 & 11, 2020.Transhumant Pastoralism and Warfare in Africa and BeyondCEPR Macroeconomics and Growth Programme Meeting 2020, November 5 & 6, 2020.What the Collective Brain Teaches Us about Economic PolicyKazanah Megatrends Forum 2019. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 8 & 9, 2019.Culture, Context, and Economic Development9
23rd Annual Conference of the Society for Institutional & Organizational Economics. Stockholm,Sweden. June 27, 2019.Rethinking Econonmic DevelopmentInnis Lecture. Canadian Economics Association Annual Meetings. Banff, Alberta, Canada. May 31,2019.Rethinking Econonmic DevelopmentTrinity College Public Lecture. Dublin, Ireland. May 8, 2019.Culture and its Importance for Understanding Economic BehaviorCanada and the World Economy Lecture Series. University of Ottawa. Ottawa, Ontario. March 12,2019.On the Economic Consequences of Culture and TraditionBrazilian Econometric Society Annual Meetings. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. December 13, 2018.On the Causes and Consequences of Cultural VariationCultural Evolution Society Annual Meeting. Tempe, Arizona. October 24, 2018.The Importance of Culture and Context for Development PolicyNYU DRI Annual Conference. New York, NY, October 11, 2018.Foreign Aid and ConflictBusiness and Fragile States. London Business School’s Wheeler Institute for Business andDevelopment. London, England, October 9, 2018.Cultural Context and Efficacy of Development PolicyGlobal Empowerment Meeting 2018. Cambridge, MA, April 18, 2018.Why Culture MattersBMO Public Lecture, Simon Fraser University. Vancouver, Canada, September 14, 2017.On the Importance of Culture for Understanding Long-Run Economic Growth and DevelopmentGGDC 25th Anniversary Conference. Groningen, Netherlands, June 29, 2017.Institutions, Growth, and DevelopmentCDESG Policy Panel Session. Canadian Economics Association Annual Meetings. Antigonish, NovaScotia, Canada, June 3, 2017.On the Importance of Culture and Context for Economic DevelopmentState of the Art Lecture. Canadian Economics Association Annual Meetings. Antigonish, NovaScotia, Canada, June 2, 2017.Religion, Magic, and Economic DevelopmentAssociation for the Study of Religion, Economics, and Culture (ASREC). 16th Annual Conference.Boston, MA, February 25, 2017.Why Development Needs HistoryEconomic History Association Plenary Roundtable on Economic History and EconomicDevelopment. Boulder Colorado, September 17, 2016.10
Nathan Nunn, 2021-08-13Economics from a Historical Perspective16th Annual World Knowledge Forum. Seoul, South Korea, October 20-22, 2015.Historical Perspectives on Economic Development in the Democratic Republic of CongoCroissance Economique Inclusive en RDC. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 7-8,2015.Understanding Gender NormsIDEAS UMass Boston. Boston, MA, October 29, 2014.Understanding CultureVI Workshop in International Economics. Real Colegio Complutense en la Universidad de Harvard.Cambridge, MA. September 15-18, 2014.Understanding Global Inequality: The Benefits of a Historical PerspectiveRethinking Economics Conference. New York, September 12-14, 2014.Reform and Motivational CrowdingDelhi Economics Conclave-2013. Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department ofEconomic Affairs. New Delhi, India. December 11-12, 2013.The Evolution of Culture and Institutions: Evidence from the Kuba KingdomThe Long Shadow of History Conference: Mechanism of Persistence in Economics and the SocialSciences. Center for Advanced Studies, Munich, Germany. November 8-9, 2013.Shaping Beliefs and CultureGlobal Empowerment Meeting 2013. Cambridge, MA, October 17, 2013.The Roots of Economic UnderdevelopmentVancouver School of Economics Inaugural Fall Conference. Vancouver, BC, September 20, 2013Culture and the Historical ProcessInstitute for Advanced Study, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Hong Kong. May22, 2013.Topics in Development EconomicsAdvanced Research Lecture Series. University of British Columbia. Vancouver, B.C. May 6-9, 2013.Culture and the Historical ProcessWorld Bank. Behavioral Economics for the African Region. Washington, D.C. November 19, 2012.Africa’s Development in Historical PerspectiveIMF Institute Training Seminar. Washington, D.C. November 8, 2012.Culture and the Historical Process74th International Atlantic Conference. Montreal, Canada. Oct 5-7, 2012.11
The Legacy of the Slave Trade on Contemporary Africa25th Annual Summer Economic Institute for Teachers. Stanford, CA. July 31, 2012.Historical Perspectives on Food, Health, and ProsperityFood Environment: The Effects of Context on Food. Agricultural and Applied EconomicsAssociation (AAEA) and European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE). Boston, MA,May 30-31, 2012.Historical Perspectives on Economic DevelopmentIMF Institute Training Seminar. Washington, D.C. October 28, 2011.External Influence and Economic Development: Historical and Contemporary PerspectivesIII Workshop in International Economics. Real Colegio Complutense en la Universidad de Harvard.Cambridge, MA. Sept 19-22, 2011.The Importance of History and Culture for Understanding Human BehaviorEmerging Science of Culture and its Implications Lecture Series. Centre for Human Evolution,Cognition and Culture, University of British Columbia. Vancouver, Canada. December 6, 2010.The Importance of History for Economic DevelopmentERSA conference on Slavery, Colonial History, and the New Economic History of Southern Africa.Stellenbosch, South Africa, November 16, 2009.What Makes Some Countries Rich and Others Poor?CIFAR’s The Next Big Question National Tour. Ottawa, Canada. October 26, 2007.The Legacy of Slave Trading in AfricaCIAR Appetite for Discovery Luncheon. Vancouver, Canada. April 24, 2006.TeachingGraduate:Political Economy (Harvard University)Economic History (Harvard University)Development Economics (Harvard University)International Trade (Harvard University, University of British Columbia)Undergraduate:Development Economics (Harvard University, University of British Columbia)Cultural Evolution (Harvard University)Professional ActivitiesEditorialPositions:Editor, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2021Co-Editor, Journal of Development Economics, 2013-201912
Nathan Nunn, 2021-08-13Editorial Board, Journal of Comparative Economics, 2012-2017Associate Editor, Review of Economics and Statistics, 2012-2015Associate Editor, Journal of International Economics, 2007-2014Editorial Advisory Board, Canadian Journal of Economics, 2010-2013Current University committees: Harvard University: Harvard Academy, Senior Scholar, 2015Harvard University: Center for African Studies, Executive Committee Member, 2013Harvard University: Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Executive Committee, 2014Harvard University: WorldMap Advisory Committee, 2012-Other activities: Economic History Association (EHA), Research Archives and Databases Committee, 2013-2016International Advisory Committee, African School of Economics, 2012Board Member, Association for Comparative Economic Studies (ACES), 2010-2012Director, Latin America and Caribbean Economic Association’s Trade Integration and GrowthNetwork (LACEA-TIGN), 2010-2015 Executive Committee, Working Group on African Political Economy (WGAPE), 2012 Program Committeeo 11th World Congress of the Econometric Society, Montreal, Canada.o SITE New Frontiers in Economic History Conference 2010, Stanford, CA.o Society for Economic Dynamics (SED) 2009 Meetings, Turkey.o African Studies Association (ASA) Annual Meetings 2009, Chicago. Conference co-organizer:o African Poverty over the Longue Duree. Accra, Ghana, 2010.o Africa’s Development: Past, Present and Future. Cambridge, MA, 2015.o Nimbios/Dysoc Investigative Workshop: Social Norms. Knoxville, TN, 2019.o Political Economy of Historical Development. Evanston, IL, 2019.Advising (graduation year and initial academic placement) Marcella Alsan (2013: Stanford University; currently Harvard University)Julia Cage (2014: Sciences Po)Raluca Dragusanu (2014: Federal Reserve Board of Governors)Natalie Bau (2015: University of Toronto; currently UCLA)Oyebola Olabisi (2016: World Bank)Guilherme Lichand (2016: University of Zurich)Sara Lowes (2017: Bocconi University; currently UC San Diego)13
Jonathan Weigel (2018: London School of Economics; currently UC Berkeley)Eduardo Montero (2018: University of Michigan; currently University of Chicago)Edoardo Teso (2018: Northwestern University)Juan Sebastian Galan (2019: Universidad de los Andes)Soeren Henn (2019: University of Chicago Pearson Institute post doc)Jonathan Schulz (2019: George Mason University)Anne Sophie Beck Knudsen (2020: University of Copenhagen)Anke Becker (2020: Harvard Busines School)Tzachi Raz (2020: Hebrew University)Moya Chin (2020: International Monetary Fund)Leander Heldring (2020: Northwestern University)Pablo Balan (2021: Tel Aviv University)Max Winkler (2021: University of Exeter)Augustin Bergeron (2021: University of Southern California)14
Education PhD, Economics, University of Toronto, 2005 MA, Economics, University of Toronto, 2000 BA, Economics, Simon Fraser University, 1998 Research Awards and Honors Jan Soderberg Family Prize in Economics and Management, 2020. Weatherhead Center Research Grant
