Talent Misallocation and the Productivity Puzzle
In this talk, Professor Ufuk Akcigit covers the productivity slowdown in the US and other high-income countries such as Australia, and the role that talent misallocation plays in that slowdown. Higher education policies and retraining policies in conjunction with R&D policy can play an important role in boosting productivity.
About the Speaker
Ufuk Akcigit is the Arnold C. Harberger Professor of Economics and the Director of the Global Center for Economic Growth at the University of Chicago. He also serves as a Research Professor at the Halle Institute for Economic Research and is an elected Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Center for Economic Policy Research, and the Center for Economic Studies. Akcigit earned his BA in Economics from Koc University in 2003 and his Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009.
As a macroeconomist, Akcigit's research centers on economic growth, technological innovation, entrepreneurship, productivity, and firm dynamics. His work is widely published in leading economics journals, frequently cited in policy reports, and featured in popular media.
In his recent book, "The Economics of Creative Destruction," co-edited with John Van Reenen, he examines how technological innovation can drive growth and address challenges such as inequality and climate change. Akcigit was also the lead academic for the World Bank's World Development Report 2024.
