1. Where do you come from? Could you tell us about your education and, in particular, about the track in which you were at the Paris School of Economics?
I come from Paris where I did my undergraduate studies. At the Paris School of Economics I enrolled in the Analysis and Policy in Economics (APE) master and then went on to do a PhD.
2. Since your graduation at PSE, what kind of job have you had? According to you, what is the main value added that your education at PSE gave you?
After I finished my PhD, I was hired as an Assistant Professor at the London School of Economics and then moved to the University of California, Berkeley. At PSE I was lucky to receive a fantastic training in economics. I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere of great intellectual freedom: I felt I was encouraged to pursue the research that I found relevant, irrespective of whatever was seen as fashionable in the profession or seen as “publishable”. At PSE, the emphasis is on conducting research that tries to answer substantial questions rather than merely apply specific methodologies. I also particularly enjoyed being on a campus where economists can meet and talk with historians, sociologists, political scientists, and legal scholars. Too often, economics departments tend to work in a silo. At PSE, economics is part of the social sciences and is connected to policy.
3. In your current position, what are the day-to-day challenges that your are facing?
In my current job, I do research and I teach both undergraduate and graduate students. The main challenge—probably like in most jobs—is to try to stay focused on what’s essential. That means learning to say “no” to keep time for readings, new research, mentoring students, and contributing to the life of the department and the university.
In 2018 Gabriel Zucman, 31-year-old young professor at the University of California Berkeley, is the recipient of the Prix du meilleur jeune économiste,Prize created by “Le Monde” and the Cercle des Economistes.
NEW:Global Wealth Inequality, NBER working paper 25462, January 2019, forthcoming, Annual Review of Economics, vol. 11, 2019. [Data].
NEW: The Exorbitant Tax Privilege (with Thomas Wright), NBER working paper 24983, September 2018. [Appendix & data webpage].
The Hidden Wealth of Nations, University of Chicago Press, September 2015. Second edition, updated and extended: October 2017, Le Seuil.
Visit here Gabriel Zucman’s website.