About
I am a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Toronto. Previously, I held the Munk Chair of Economics at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto and I worked at the University of Bristol and the University of Stirling, both in the UK. My research looks at spatial disparities in the distribution of consumptive or productive amenities that attract individuals or firms. This helps me explain spatial variation in house prices, the share of high-skilled workers, environmental (dis)amenities, innovative activities, political outcomes, or economic development. Often, the best way to understand present-day outcomes is to study the past and the legacies of historic developments. Cicero turned this thought in a wonderful quote: "To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?" This explains why I am also passionate about economic history.
Currently, I am a co-editor of the Journal of Urban Economics and I am an associate editor of the Economic Journal, Regional Science and Urban Economics and the Journal of Economic Geography.
I have coedited a special issue on Urban Economics and History that is published in Regional Science and Urban Economics, Vol 94, 2022. Have a look!
Research interests
Urban Economics, Economic History, Environmental Economics, Political Economy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Contact
Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy
1 Devonshire Place
Toronto, ON
M5S 3K7
Canada
fname.lname(at)utoronto.ca
Affiliations