Orazio Attanasio (born 31 October 1959, in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

) is an Italian

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 the Cowles Professor of Economics at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. He was the

Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...

Chair of Economics at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. He graduated from the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

in 1982 and

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

in 1988. He then went to teach at

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

and was a National Fellow at Stanford's

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and ...

and a visiting professor at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

before arriving at University College London. Currently he is also a Research Director at the

Institute for Fiscal Studies The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is an economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom, which specialises in UK taxation and public policy. It produces both academic and policy-related findings. The institute's aim is to "a ...

(IFS) in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, co-director of th
Centre for the Evaluation of Development Policies
at the

, and a director of th
ESRC Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy
In 2004, Attanasio co-authored an IFS evaluation of an initiative which was designed to improve the lives of children in small

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n towns and villages by paying their mothers to improve their children's food intake; in return, younger children had to have regular medical check-ups and older ones were required to attend school regularly. Begun in 2002, and funded by both the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

and the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...

, the project had examined how funds to alleviate poverty and promote development should be targeted. Early results were positive, showing both an increase in the number of children going to school and those enjoying improved diets. Attanasio said, "This evaluation is important, not just for Colombia, but to help us understand how developing countries can best target valuable resources to improve the prospects for their poorest children." In 2001 Attanasio was elected

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Econometric Society The Econometric Society is an international society of academic economists interested in applying statistical tools to their field. It is an independent organization with no connections to societies of professional mathematicians or statisticians. ...

and in 2004 he was elected

of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

. He was chosen to be President of the

European Economic Association The European Economic Association (EEA) is a professional academic body which links European economists. It was founded in the mid-1980s. Its first annual congress was in 1986 in Vienna and its first president was Jacques Drèze. The current pres ...

in 2014. In October 2016, Attanasio won the 1 million Swiss francs Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize for his "use of economic models and field experiments to assess and shape early child development programs and policies in low income countries". In 2016 Attanasio was also awarded the Carlos Diaz Alejandro prize by the

Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA) is an international association of economists with common research interests in Latin America. It was founded in July 1992, to encourage professional interaction and foster increased dial ...

and in 2017 he was elected to serve in 2020 as the 2nd vice-president of the

. Attanasio's research focuses include

household consumption Consumption is the act of using resources to satisfy current needs and wants. It is seen in contrast to investing, which is spending for acquisition of ''future'' income. Consumption is a major concept in economics and is also studied in many o ...

, saving and labour supply,

human capital Human capital is a concept used by social scientists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a substantial ...

accumulation, and micro credit, among others. He has also served as Managing Editor of the

Review of Economic Studies ''The Review of Economic Studies'' (also known as ''REStud'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering economics. It was established in 1933 by a group of economists based in Britain and the United States. The original editorial team ...

, the

Journal of the European Economic Association The ''Journal of the European Economic Association'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of economics. It was established in 2003 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the European Economic Association. The current m ...

, and

Quantitative Economics ''Quantitative Economics'' is a peer-reviewed open access academic journal covering econometrics. It is sponsored by the Econometric Society, was established in 2010, and is published by Wiley-Blackwell. The editor-in-chief is Christopher Taber (U ...

Publication

References

External links

Homepage at UCLInterview on BOLD
(Blog on Learning and Development)
Orazio Attanasio appointed as Jeremy Bentham Chair of Economics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attanasio, Orazio 1959 births Living people Academics of University College London Alumni of the London School of Economics Stanford University Department of Economics faculty Italian economists Microeconometricians Fellows of the Econometric Society 20th-century American economists Labor economists 21st-century American economists Fellows of the European Economic Association