LEADERSHIP TEAM: CO-DIRECTORS
Ufuk Akcigit
Arnold C. Harberger Professor in Economics and the College, The Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics
Director, Global Center for Economic Growth; Co-Director, Growth Academy
Ufuk Akcigit is the Arnold C. Harberger Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. He is an elected Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Center for Economic Policy Research, and the Center for Economic Studies.
He earned a BA in economics at Koc University in 2003 and a Ph.D. in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009.As a macroeconomist, Akcigit’s research focuses on economic growth, technological creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, productivity, and firm dynamics. His work has been consistently published in top economics journals, cited in numerous policy reports, and featured in popular media. In his recent book, “The Economics of Creative Destruction,” co-edited with John Van Reenen, he explores how technological innovation can drive growth and address challenges ranging from inequality to climate change. He is also the lead academic for the World Development Report 2024 published by the World Bank.
The contributions of Akcigit’s research have been acknowledged by the National Science Foundation with the CAREER Grant (one of NSF’s most prestigious awards supporting early-career faculty), the Kaufmann Foundation’s Junior Faculty Grant, and the Kiel Institute Excellence Award, among many other institutions. In 2019, Akcigit was honored as the recipient of the Max Plank-Humboldt Research Award. In 2021, he was awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and was named a Fellow of the Econometric Society. In 2022, he received the Sakip Sabanci International Research Award and Kiel Institute’s Global Economy Prize.
Somik Lall
Senior Advisor to the Chief Economist of the World Bank Group
Co-Director, Growth Academy
Lall has recently directed the World Bank's 2024 World Development Report on the “Middle Income Trap” that examines how middle-income countries can break into the ranks of the wealthiest economies.
Previously, he headed the climate economics and policy team in the World Bank’s Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions vice presidency, where he developed and supervised policy research programs on resilience and economic development, the macro-criticality of climate change, and innovations for the low-carbon transition.
His other roles include being the Global Lead for territorial development and Lead Economist for the World Bank’s Cities Practice where he developed a novel data-driven approach to help city mayors rapidly respond to protect their citizens from the ravages of COVID 19. Listen to his Monocle podcast.
Lall is widely published in academic and policy journals. His 2021 book, Place, Productivity, and Prosperity, provides a new analytic framework to discipline policies targeting specific places within countries. His 2017 book, “Africa’s Cities: Opening Doors to the World,” provides new evidence on institutional and regulatory constraints that hobble urbanization in Africa.
Dr. Lall also teaches at Johns Hopkins University and has been a Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy in New Delhi.
