Keynote Speakers

Adrien Auclert (Stanford University) — Lecture on January 25th

Monetary and Fiscal Policy with Heterogeneous Agents

Abstract: In the past decade, the literature has developed a new paradigm for monetary and fiscal policy analysis by merging the canonical macro model of income and wealth inequality with the new Keynesian model, which allows for the joint study and aggregate and distributional effects of shocks and policies. I review the key developments in this literature through the lens of a unified “canonical HANK” model. Monetary and balanced-budget fiscal policy have similar aggregate effects as in the new Keynesian model, while deficit-financed fiscal policy is much more powerful. I discuss the implications of adding illiquid accounts, behavioral frictions, endogenous portfolio choice, and open-economy considerations to the model. Throughout, I highlight the benefits of a “sequence-space approach” for solving the models I introduce and understanding their fundamental mechanisms.

Adrien Auclert is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Stanford University, a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a research affiliate at the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), and a faculty fellow of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR).

After studying engineering and math at Ecole Centrale Paris and Cambridge, he obtained master’s degrees in economics from ENSAE and LSE, and received his PhD in economics from MIT in 2015. He visited Princeton University from 2015 to 2016 as a postdoctoral fellow, and the University of Chicago from 2021 to 2022 as a Saieh Fellow. Adrien’s research explores the aggregate implications of heterogeneity: how to use micro data to improve our understanding of macroeconomic dynamics and the effects of policy. He has studied monetary policy, fiscal policy, exchange rates, inequality, consumer bankruptcy, price setting, sovereign default, and demographic change. He was awarded an NSF CAREER award in 2021 and a Sloan Research Fellowship in 2022.

Learn more about Adrien Auclert and his work on his homepage.

Ghazala Azmat (Sciences Po) — Lecture on January 26th 

Aspiration Formation in Educational and Professional Environments

Abstract: Persisting earning disparities across socio-demographic groups continues to be a central focus of academic and policy debate. While these inequities are commonly attributed to differences choices—such as occupational and educational decisions—the underlying factors determining these choices have roots that are less well-understood. The focus of this talk is to help understand how, at an early stage of educational or career planning, individuals’ aspirations (or goals) are formed. This is crucial for unraveling the determining factors of these disparities.

Ghazala Azmat holds a Ph.D. in economics from the London School of Economics and is currently Professor of Economics at Sciences Po in Paris, France. Her research interests are in the fields of labour and organizational economics, the economics of education, and gender economics. Ghazala was recently awarded an ERC Consolidator grant, which studies the educational constraints individuals face when planning their future investments in human capital. She is a junior member of the Institut Universitaire de France, a Research Associate at the CEP (LSE), a Research Fellow at CEPR, CESifo, and IZA. Ghazala is also the Co-Director of the CEPR Organizational Economics (OE) Group. She is an editorial board member of American Economic Journal: Policy and Economica. Previously, she was a managing editor of Economic Policy, and co-editor of Labour Economics.

Learn more about Ghazala Azmat and her work on her homepage.