Bio

Academic activities

My academic specialization is the study and teaching of economics.

I am a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Dept of Economics at New York University.

In recent years I was also a regular visiting professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, and I have been teaching courses at Columbia University as well. Previously I worked many years in Catalonia, mainly at UPF, but also at UAB and URV. I have a degree from Università Bocconi and a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago (where I studied with Jose Scheinkman and Gary Becker, among others).

My research interests include topics in economic growth, social capital and norms, contract theory, and political economy. I have written articles on rationalizability and conjectural equilibria; human capital, distribution and growth; nonexclusive contracts with moral hazard; social norms and contracts with asymmetric information.  I am currently interested in models of social interactions and social capital, information and accountability in political agency, and normative theories of rights.

I have also begun to explore alternative ways of introducing people to economic issues, such as a narrative approach. My first book (joint with Pere Puig) is a tale focused on incentives and models of economic organization. Our second book is a narration inspired by the last economic crisis.

My extensive teaching experience includes courses at all levels (introductory, intermediate and advanced undergraduate, as well as graduate) in most areas of economic theory, such as Macro, Micro, Growth, Information and Uncertainty, Decision and Game Theory, International Economics. UPF acknowledged my educational effort awarding me a prize for teaching quality in 2012. I have also been an advisor for some PhD and master’s thesis.

For more details on my academic activities, see my CV and main publications.

Here is more on my Books.

For information on my other activities and interests, continue to Bio (2).