George Akerlof - College of Arts & Sciences

Georgetown University Faculty in Research

Dr. George Akerlof, a University Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy here at Georgetown, and a Koshland Professor of Economics Emeritus at UC Berkeley. His research is based in economics, but it often draws from other disciplines, including psychology, anthropology, and sociology. George has been a distinguished contributor to the field of economics for over 50 years. His most notable contributions have come in the areas of asymmetrical information, identity economics, reproductive technology shock, corporate looting, and natural norms of macroeconomics. In 2001, he was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. The Nobel Committee cited his seminal paper from 1970 on asymmetrical information titled “The Market for Lemons.” He taught, with only brief interruption, at the University of California at Berkeley from 1966 to 2010, then served as a Visiting Scholar at the International Monetary Fund until 2014 before coming to Georgetown. He has co-authored a handful of books, the most recent of which is titled “Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception.” Table of Contents 0:00 - Intro 1:20 - What’s your story? 2:30 - How did you connect your childhood interests to economics? 4:30 - Were anomalies the kernel of your research? 9:15 - How did societal problems prompt your economic perspective? 8:00 - Did you have trouble publishing early work? Were you viewed as a rebel? 9:00 - Meeting Mentors: Robert Solo & Raoul Bott 11:05 - What are your views on your mentors? 12:30 - How do you bring conceptual frameworks from outside of economics into the mainstream? 14:35 - Did you see your work accumulating in a design path? 16:25 - What common advice do you give to young faculty members? 17:30 - What are you most excited about in your current work? Music Main Theme: “Corporate Technology” by Scott Holmes Background: “Horizon Soundscapes” by RF Soundtracks