Jonathan Levin (economist)

Jonathan Levin
Levin in 2021
13th President of Stanford University
Assumed office
August 1, 2024
Preceded byRichard Saller
Personal details
Born (1972-11-17) November 17, 1972 (age 51)
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Children3
Parent
EducationStanford University (BA, BS)
Nuffield College, Oxford (MPhil)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD)
Websitepresident.stanford.edu
AwardsJohn Bates Clark Medal (2011)
Scientific career
FieldsEconomics
InstitutionsStanford University
ThesisRelational contracts, incentives and information (1999)
Doctoral advisorBengt Holmstrom
Academic career
Information at IDEAS / RePEc

Jonathan David Levin (born November 17, 1972) is an American economist, currently serving as the 13th president of Stanford University. He was previously the 10th dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.[1]

Levin is known for his research in industrial organization, particularly in the areas of market design, antitrust economics, and the economics of contracting.

Academic career

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Levin received his Bachelor of Arts in English and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Stanford University in 1994, a Master of Philosophy in Economics from Nuffield College, Oxford, in 1996, and his PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999.[2] He was a post-doctoral scholar at the Cowles Foundation at Yale University. He joined Stanford as an assistant professor in 2000 and became a full professor in 2008.

His research is in the fields of Microeconomic Theory and Industrial Organization. Since 2016, he has been the Philip H. Knight Professor and Dean of Stanford Graduate School of Business. He was the Holbrook Working Professor of Price Theory in the Department of Economics at Stanford and chair of Stanford Department of Economics from 2011 to 2014. Since 2021, he has been a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).[3]

On April 4, 2024, the Stanford University Board of Trustees announced Levin would become Stanford's 13th president, effective August 1, 2024.[4] Levin succeeds Richard Saller, who has served as Stanford's president on an interim basis since September 2023 after the resignation of Marc Tessier-Lavigne. Levin was ceremonially inaugurated to the Presidency on September 27, 2024. Levin is the first Stanford president since 1968 to have a Stanford degree.[5]

Awards and honors

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Levin has received over a dozen honors and awards. He was awarded the 2011 John Bates Clark Medal[6][7] as the outstanding American economist under the age of 40, regarded as the most distinguished economic title after the Nobel Prize.

Some of his other notable achievements include:

  • John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, 2014
  • American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, Best Paper Award, 2014
  • Kavli Frontiers of Science Symposium, 2006
  • Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, 2004–2006
  • George Webb Medley Thesis Prize, Oxford, 1996

Personal life

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Jonathan Levin is Jewish.[8] Levin lives in Palo Alto with his wife, Amy, a physician, and their three children.[9]

He is the son of former Yale University President Rick Levin.[10][11]

References

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  1. ^ Chaykowski, Kathleen. "Stanford Business School Names Economist Jonathan Levin As Its New Dean". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  2. ^ "CV" (PDF). Jonathan Levin.
  3. ^ "President Biden Announces Members of President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology". White House. September 22, 2021. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  4. ^ Nietzel, Michael T. "Jonathan Levin Named Stanford University's 13th President". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  5. ^ "Since Sterling: Stanford Historical Society traces role of University president". May 2, 2024. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  6. ^ Lahart, Justin (April 19, 2011). "Stanford's Jonathan Levin Wins John Bates Clark Medal". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  7. ^ Einav, Liran; Tadelis, Steve (2012). "Jonathan Levin: 2011 John Bates Clark Medalist". Journal of Economic Perspectives. 26 (2): 207–218. doi:10.1257/jep.26.2.207. ISSN 0895-3309.
  8. ^ Mirsky, May (April 18, 2024). "Stanford's first Jewish president will inherit a tense climate". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Archived from the original on August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Moules, Jonathan (September 18, 2016). "Stanford GSB's new dean eyes online expansion". Financial Times. Archived from the original on August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  10. ^ Gellman, Lindsay (May 23, 2016). "Stanford Business School Names Economist Jonathan Levin as New Dean". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  11. ^ Saul, Stephanie (April 4, 2024). "Jonathan Levin, Dean of Business School, Is Stanford's New President". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
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