Distinguished University Professor George A. Akerlof retires after more than a decade at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
George Akerlof has been recognized as Professor Emeritus at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. As a distinguished university professor at the McCourt School, Akerlof taught macro and microeconomic theory. As an economist for six decades, Akerlof has transformed the discipline of economics, playing a critical role in the development of behavioral economics. Previously, Akerlof served as a senior economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisers and as a senior resident scholar at the International Monetary Fund.
Akerlof is widely known for his award-winning research, “The Market for Lemons,” for which he was co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001, along with economists Michael Spence and Joseph Stiglitz. Akerlof’s paper highlighted his theory of asymmetric information and its effect on economic behavior. Using the example of a secondhand-car market, Akerlof’s research demonstrated how asymmetric information between buyers and sellers could lead to the selection of poor-quality products, such as a defective car known as a “lemon.” His work demonstrates that asymmetric information can cause markets to shrink considerably. “The Market for Lemons” became highly influential in subsequent literature on asymmetric information.
“George Akerlof is one of the most original economists of our time, unafraid to ask unconventional questions and driven by a belief that economics must strengthen the public good,” said Dean Carole Roan Gresenz of the McCourt School of Public Policy. “His contributions have enriched our faculty, inspired our students, as they also reflect the McCourt School’s commitment to rigorous, mission-driven scholarship. We are grateful for his contributions to the Georgetown University community.”
Decades of distinguished scholarship
Before joining Georgetown, Akerlof had been a full professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Akerlof had also been the president of the American Economic Association and a member of the Council of the Econometric Society. He is a trustee of Economists for Peace and Security, and previously served as co-director of the Social Interactions, Identity and Well-Being program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. He was also the Cassel Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics. He earned his B.A. from Yale University and his PhD for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Among his scholarly contributions, Akerlof co-authored Identity Economics with Rachel Kranton, which introduced a framework for understanding how social identity shapes economic behavior. Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception, written with co-author Robert Shiller, examined how free markets can exploit human psychological weaknesses. Akerlof and Shiller also co-authored Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism. Additionally, Akerlof co-authored numerous research papers with his wife, former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Chair of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen, ranging from research on efficiency wages to the role of community values in controlling crime.