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Torsten PerssonProfessor

About me

Torsten Persson is Professor of Economics at Stockholm University and Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics, and has held visiting positions at leading universities as Harvard, Princeton and Berkeley. Persson is the 2008 President of the Econometric Society, and was President of the European Economic Association in 2003. His scientific prizes include the 1997 Yrjö Jahnsson Medal, given biannually to “the best young economist in Europe”. Persson’s work has spanned macroeconomics, international economics, and public economics, but he is most well-known for his articles and books on political economics. His current research focuses on development, civil war, and climate change.

Research projects

Social and Political Economics: Theory and Evidence

These two programs include theoretical as well as empirical research. I give examples of a first set of projects in the two programs, which will be carried out by twelve different collaborators in the U.S., Europe, and Sweden.

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SWECOV: Swedish Register-based Research Project on COVID-19

SWECOV is the Swedish Register-based Research Project on COVID-19. SWECOV is a multidisciplinary research collaboration focused on using quantitative methods and comprehensive register data about the whole Swedish population to answer important questions about the consequences of the pandemic.

A shop window, selling face masks and sanitizer, during the COVID-19 pandemic

Publications

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

  • Is Inequality Harmful for Growth?

    1993. Torsten Persson, Guido Tabellini.

    Report

    Is inequality harmful for growth? We suggest that it is. In a society where distributional conflict is important, political decisions produce economic policies that tax investment and growth promoting activities in order to redistribute income. The paper formulates a theoretical model that captures this idea. The model implications are supported by the evidence. Both historical panel data and post-war cross sectionc indicate a significant and large negative relation between inequality and growth. This relation is only present in democracies.

    Read more about Is Inequality Harmful for Growth?

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