Dani Rodrik (born August 14, 1957) is a Turkish
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
and Ford Foundation Professor of
International Political Economy at the
John F. Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. He was formerly the
Albert O. Hirschman Professor of the Social Sciences at the
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...
in
Princeton, New Jersey
The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
. He has published widely in the areas of
international economics
International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns an ...
,
economic development
In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...
, and
political economy
Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...
. The question of what constitutes good economic policy and why some governments are more successful than others at adopting it is at the center of his research. His works include ''Economics Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science'' and ''The Globalization Paradox: Democracy and the Future of the World Economy''. He is also joint editor-in-chief of the academic journal ''
Global Policy''.
Biography
Rodrik is descended from a family of
Sephardic Jews
Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
.
After graduating from
Robert College in
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
,
[Turkishtime Article (in Turkish)](_blank)
he obtained an
A.B. degree (
summa cum laude) in Government and Economics from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...
in 1979. He then earned an
M.P.A. degree (
with distinction) from
Princeton School of Public and International Affairs in 1981 and a
Ph.D. degree in Economics from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
in 1985, with the thesis titled ''Studies on the Welfare Theory of Trade and Exchange-rate Policy''.
He had also been writing for the now defunct Turkish daily ''
Radikal'' 2009–2016.
He joined the newly created
World Economics Association as a member of the executive committee in 2011.
He is married to Pınar Doğan, a lecturer in Public Policy at the
Harvard Kennedy School
The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
. She is the daughter of Turkish retired General
Çetin Doğan who was acquitted of an aggravated life imprisonment for his alleged involvement in the alleged
Sledgehammer coup plan.
As a scholar, he is affiliated with the
National Bureau of Economic Research
The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic co ...
,
Centre for Economic Policy Research (London),
Center for Global Development,
Institute for International Economics, and the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
, and is co-editor of the ''Review of Economics and Statistics''. He has been the recipient of research grants from the
Carnegie Corporation,
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
, and
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
. Among other honors, he was presented the
Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought in 2002 from the
Global Development and Environment Institute.
On 8 November 2019, he received an
honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
from
Erasmus University Rotterdam.
On 21 January 2020,
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
named him a member of the
Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Work
His 1997 book ''Has Globalization Gone Too Far?'' was called "one of the most important economics books of the decade" in
Bloomberg Businessweek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
.
In his article, he focused on three tensions between the global market and social stability. Pointing out that the so-called "globalization" has a dilemma of promoting international equality while exposing fault lines between the nation states with the skills and capitals to succeed in global markets and those without that advantage, he sees the free market system as a threat to social stability and deeply domestic norms. In 2000, Rodrick coined the
political trilemma of the world economy.
Dani Rodrik is a regular contributor to Project Syndicate since 1998. He also founded Economics for Inclusive Prosperity (EfIP) with
Suresh Naidu, Gabriel Zucman, and 11 additional founding members in February 2019.
Selected publications
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References
External links
Dani Rodrik's home page
Dani Rodrik's latest researchDani Rodrik's weblog"Roads to Prosperity"Dani Rodrik's op-ed column for
Project Syndicate
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodrik, Dani
1957 births
Living people
Anti-globalization writers
École Normale Supérieure alumni
Harvard College alumni
Princeton University alumni
Institute for Advanced Study faculty
Robert College alumni
Harvard Kennedy School faculty
Trade economists
Academics from Istanbul
Turkish expatriate academics in the United States
Turkish Jews
20th-century Turkish economists
21st-century Turkish economists
Social Science Research Council
Peterson Institute for International Economics
American academics of Turkish descent
Academics of the London School of Economics