Emmanuel Farhi (8 September 1978 – 23 July 2020) was a French

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 ...

who served as the Robert C. Waggoner Professor of Economics 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 ...

from 2018 till his death in 2020. A specialist in

macroeconomics Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that deals with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. This includes regional, national, and global economies. Macroeconomists study topics such as output (econ ...

taxation A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal person, legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to Pigouvian tax, regulate and reduce nega ...

and

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

, he also served on the Conseil d’Analyse Économique from 2010 to 2010. On July 23, 2020, aged 41, Farhi committed suicide.

Education

Emmanuel Farhi was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1978, the son of André Farhi, a

development economist Development economics is a branch of economics that deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural c ...

of Egyptian Jewish descent, and Danièle Debordeaux, a specialist in

social policy Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...

. He attended the

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on Rue Saint-Jacques (Paris), rue Saint-Jacques in central Par ...

, where, in 1995, he won the

concours général In France, the Concours Général (), created in 1747, is the most prestigious academic competition held every year between students of ''Première'' (11th grade) and ''Terminale'' (12th and final grade) in almost all subjects taught in both genera ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, and completed his '' classes préparatoires'' in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

.https://scholar.harvard.edu/sites/scholar.harvard.edu/files/farhi/files/cv_farhi.pdf In 1997, he ranked first on the national competitive exam for entry to the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

. He chose instead to attend the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

, where he specialised in

and received his ''

agrégation In France, the () is the most competitive and prestigious examination for civil service in the French public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all stu ...

'' in 1999, ranking second. At the ENS, he served as an assistant to Fields Medalist

Cédric Villani Cédric Patrice Thierry Villani (; born 5 October 1973) is a French politician and mathematician working primarily on partial differential equations, Riemannian geometry and mathematical physics. He was awarded the Fields Medal in 2010, and he ...

, and received a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in mathematics and economics in 2001. He was then admitted to the

Corps des Mines The () is the foremost technical Grand Corps of the French State (). It is composed of the state industrial engineers. The Corps is attached to the French Ministry of Economy and Finance. Its purpose is to entice French students in mathematic ...

, and completed its programme in government and business in 2005. He received a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in economics from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

in 2006, where he was advised by Ricardo J. Caballero and

Iván Werning Iván Werning (born June 20, 1974) is an Argentine economist who has served as the Robert Solow, Robert M. Solow Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 2014. Born in Argentina, Werning received a Bachelor of Art ...

Career

In 2006, Farhi was appointed an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

, where he became a

tenured Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

full professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

in 2010, and the Robert C. Waggoner Professor of Economics in 2018. One of the leading economists of his generation in both the US and France, Farhi’s research focused on

and

, particularly on

financial stability Financial stability is the absence of system-wide episodes in which a financial crisis occurs and is characterised as an economy with Volatility (finance), low volatility. It also involves financial systems' stress-resilience being able to cope wi ...

and the process of reforming the

international monetary system An international monetary system is a set of internationally agreed rules, conventions and supporting institutions that facilitate international trade, cross border investment and generally the reallocation of capital between states that have dif ...

. He served on the Conseil d’Analyse Économique from 2010 to 2012, under

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

François Fillon François Charles Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of The Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

. He received the Bernácer Prize in 2009, and the Prix du meilleure jeune économiste de France in 2013. He became a research associate at the NBER in 2006, and was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Econometric Society The Econometric Society is an international society of academic economists interested in applying statistical tools in the practice of econometrics. It is an independent organization with no connections to societies of professional mathematicians o ...

in 2015. Though highly quantitative, his work shed light on practical issues such as

macroprudential regulation Macroprudential regulation is the approach to financial regulation that aims to mitigate risk to the financial system as a whole (or "systemic risk"). After the 2008 financial crisis, there has been a growing consensus among policymakers and econo ...

, mitigating the impacts of economic crises, and understanding the implications of fiscal policies. For example, he assessed the controversial Social VAT, a measure introduced by

French President The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the pos ...

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

and repealed by his successor

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

only to reemerge under a different form: the "Competitiveness Pact". Farhi’s work cast a spotlight on a range of issues, including monetary economics, public finance,

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 ...

, global imbalances, fiscal policy, and taxation. He also focused on issues like mitigating the impacts of economic crises and macroprudential regulation, a system used to describe the laws, rules, and conditions for banks and financial organizations that are meant to protect the whole financial system from risk. In September 2014, the

IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of la ...

published a list of 25 “economists under 45 howill have the most influence in the coming decades on our understanding of the global economy”. Farhi was one of the 7 French economists listed for his work on "monetary economics, international economics, finance and public finance, including research on global imbalances, monetary and fiscal policy, and taxation." Farhi frequently co-authored academic papers with

, David Baqaee,

Xavier Gabaix Xavier Gabaix (born August 1971) is a French economist, currently the Pershing Square Professor of Economics and Finance at Harvard University. He has been listed among the top 8 young economists in the world by ''The Economist''. He holds a B.A. ...

, and

Jean Tirole Jean Tirole (born 9 August 1953) is a French economist who is currently a professor of economics at Toulouse 1 Capitole University. He focuses on industrial organization, game theory, banking and finance, and psychology. In particular, he focus ...

Selected publications

Farhi authored and published many academic articles and a book. * ''Reforming the International Monetary System'' * « Speculative Growth: Hints from the US Economy » (en coll.), American Economic Review, vol. 96, n° 4, September 2006. * « Saving and Investing for Early Retirement: A Theoretical Analysis » (en coll.), Journal of Financial Economics, vol. 83, n° 1, 2007. * « An Equilibrium Model of Global Imbalances and Low Interest Rates » (en coll.), American Economic Review, 2008. * « A Theory of Liquidity and Regulation of Financial Intermediation » (en coll.), Review of Economic Studies, 2009. * « Progressive Estate Taxation » (en coll.), Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2010. * « Nonlinear Capital Taxation without Commitment » (with Christopher Sleet, Iván Werning, and Sevin Yeltekin) Review of Economic Studies, October 2012, 79, no. 4: 1469–1493.

References

External links

Harvard Bio page

Harvard Crimson Tenure Article in 2010

posted on

Greg Mankiw Nicholas Gregory Mankiw ( ; born February 3, 1958) is an American macroeconomist who is currently the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Mankiw is best known in academia for his work on New Keynesian economics. Man ...

's blog in July 2007.
''Econ Focus'' interview
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Second/Third Quarter 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Farhi, Emmanuel 1978 births 2020 deaths French people of Egyptian-Jewish descent Place of death missing Fellows of the Econometric Society 21st-century French economists Scientists from Paris Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni École Normale Supérieure alumni Corps des mines MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni Harvard University faculty Suicides in the United States 2020 suicides