Dear All,

The Isaac Centre for Public Policy and Department of Economics invites you to a public lecture by Professor Donald R. Davis, (Ragnar Nurkse Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Columbia University) on 3rd March 2025, at 4:40 pm, as part of its Eminent Speaker Series.

For Registration, please fill the form HERE

Title: Work from Home, Work from Anywhere: Urban and Global Economic Development

Time: 4:40 – 5.50 PM

Venue: AC-02- 108

Abstract:

International trade and urbanization have been two important engines of economic growth for countries around the globe. However, in recent years, both have encountered significant disruptions. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to remote work, prompting demographic shifts as people relocated away from urban centers, raising questions about the future of cities and labor markets. At the same time, post-pandemic industrial policies—ranging from subsidies to tariffs—have placed new pressures on global trade dynamics, reshaping supply chains and economic relationships between nations. As cities have historically thrived as hubs of commerce and international exchange, these shifts in trade policies and workforce distribution are redefining the economic role of urban centers. Against this evolving landscape, this talk will explore pressing issues and emerging ideas in urban and labor economics, as well as international trade, offering insights into how these forces continue to shape economic development.

About the Speaker:

Prof Donald R. Davis is the Ragnar Nurkse Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Columbia University. He earned his undergraduate degree in social and ethical philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley, and his PhD in Economics from Columbia. Before joining Columbia, he was a faculty member at Harvard University from 1992 to 1999.

Prof Davis has served as Chairman of Columbia’s Department of Economics and has been on various editorial boards. He is also a past president of the Urban Economics Association. His research spans multiple areas within spatial economics, including international trade, economic geography, regional economics, and urban economics. His work has explored trade theory testing, the role of market scale in international trade, trade and inequality, the distribution of skills across cities of different sizes, and the segregation of consumption by race and ethnicity within cities.

Best Regards,

Abhishek