Nathan Nunn


Nathan Nunn is a Canadian economist and the Frederic E. Abbe Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Being one of the world's most prominent economic historians, he is perhaps best known for his research on the long-term effects of slave trade on Africa. Other research interests include economic development, cultural economics, political economy and international trade.

Biography

A native of Canada, Nathan Nunn earned first a B.A. in economics from Simon Fraser University in 1998 and then a M.A. and PhD in economics from the University of Toronto in 2000 and 2005, respectively. After his graduation, Nunn worked as an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia before moving to Harvard University in 2007. There, he was promoted to the Paul Sack Associate Professorship in Political Economy in 2011, became full professor in 2012, and has held the position of Frederic E. Abbe Professor of Economics since 2016. Nunn maintains affiliations with NBER, BREAD, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, the Center for African Studies, and the Center for the Environment. Moreover, Nunn currently serves as co-editor of the Journal of Development Economics and has performed editorial duties at the Journal of Comparative Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of International Economics, and the Canadian Journal of Economics in the past.

Research

Nathan Nunn's research focuses on economic history, economic development, cultural economics, political economy and international trade. A recurrent theme in Nunn's research is the long-term impact of historical processes on economic development, often mediated through institutions, culture, knowledge and technology. According to IDEAS/RePEc, Nathan Nunn belongs to the 2% of most cited economists. Key findings of his research include the following: