Featured Researcher: Ufuk Akcigit

Ufuk Akcigit is the Arnold C. Harberger Professor of Economics and director of the Global Center for Economic Growth at the University of Chicago. He is a research associate in the NBER's Productivity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship and Economic Fluctuations and Growth programs. Additionally, he serves as research professor and head of the research group on The Economic Gap between East and West Germany at the Halle Institute for Economic Research. He is also codirector of the Growth Academy and  a research associate with the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

Akcigit's research focuses on macroeconomics, economic growth, technological innovation, entrepreneurship, productivity, and firm dynamics. His work examines how technological innovation drives growth and addresses contemporary challenges, including inequality and climate change. He served as the academic lead for the World Development Report 2024 and coedited The Economics of Creative Destruction: New Research on Themes from Aghion and Howitt with NBER research associate John Van Reenen.

Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Akcigit served as assistant professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a BA in economics from Koç University in Istanbul in 2003 and a PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009.