Paul Romer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Romer
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Romer in 2005
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| Chief Economist of the World Bank | |
| In office October 2016 – January 24, 2018 |
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| President | Jim Yong Kim |
| Preceded by | Kaushik Basu |
| Succeeded by | Shanta Devarajan (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Paul Michael Romer
November 6, 1955 Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Education | Phillips Exeter Academy University of Chicago (SB, PhD) Massachusetts Institute of Technology Queen's University |
| Awards | Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2018) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Economics |
| Institutions | New York University Stanford University UC Berkeley University of Chicago University of Rochester |
| Thesis | Dynamic competitive equilibria with externalities, increasing returns and unbounded growth (1983) |
| Doctoral advisor | José Scheinkman Robert Lucas Jr. |
| Other academic advisors | Russell Davidson Ivar Ekeland |
| Doctoral students | Sérgio Rebelo Maurice Kugler |
Paul Michael Romer (born November 6, 1955) is an American economist. He is a professor of economics at Boston College. Romer is famous for his work on how economies grow.
He used to be the main economist for the World Bank. In 2018, he won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He shared this award with William Nordhaus. Romer won for his ideas about how new technologies and ideas help economies grow. This is called "endogenous growth theory." He also came up with the word "mathiness." This word describes when math is used in a confusing way in economic research.
Before joining Boston College, Romer taught at many top universities. These include NYU, the University of Chicago, and Stanford University. He was the chief economist at the World Bank until January 2018. He left after a disagreement about how Chile's "ease of doing business" ranking was calculated.
Contents
Early Life and School
Paul Romer was born on November 6, 1955. His father, Roy Romer, was once the governor of Colorado. Paul has four brothers and two sisters. One of his brothers, Chris Romer, was a senator in Colorado.
Paul finished high school at Phillips Exeter Academy in 1973. He studied mathematics and economics at the University of Chicago. He earned his bachelor's degree in math and his PhD in economics there in 1983. He also studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Queen's University.
Paul Romer's Career
Romer's most important work is about how economies grow over time. He helped create the idea of endogenous growth theory. This theory explains how new ideas and technology come from inside the economy. In 1997, Time magazine named him one of America's 25 most important people. He has also won several other awards for his work.
Academia and Research
Romer's research built on earlier studies about economic growth. His 1983 PhD paper showed how new technology can come from people's actions. For example, research and development can lead to new inventions. This idea led to his important articles in 1986 and 1990. These articles helped start the field of endogenous growth theory.
He taught at many universities, including Stanford University and New York University. At New York University, he started the Marron Institute of Urban Management. This institute helps cities plan for the future. It aims to make cities safer, healthier, and easier to get around.
Business Ventures
In 2001, Romer took a break from teaching. He started a company called Aplia. This company creates online homework problems for college students. Students have used Aplia to answer billions of homework questions. Cengage Learning bought Aplia in 2007.
Romer is known for saying, "A crisis is a terrible thing to waste." He said this in 2004, talking about how other countries were improving their education faster than the United States. This quote became popular during the Great Recession. It encouraged people to find good opportunities during tough times.
Charter Cities Idea
Romer has explored the idea of "charter cities." These are special areas that could help developing countries grow. He shared this idea in a TED talk in 2009. He believes that new rules and better ways of governing could help poorer nations develop faster.
In his idea, a country would let a more developed country manage a charter city. This would allow new rules to be tested. People could then choose to live in these cities if they liked the rules.
The government of Honduras thought about creating charter cities. Romer was part of a committee to ensure fairness. However, he left in 2012. This happened when the Honduran government made agreements without his committee's input.
Work at the World Bank
Paul Romer became the World Bank Chief Economist in October 2016. He left this job on January 24, 2018. His resignation followed a disagreement about how the World Bank ranked countries for "ease of doing business."
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics
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Romer won the 2018 Nobel Prize with William Nordhaus. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences chose Romer for showing "how knowledge can function as a driver of long-term economic growth." They noted that he explained how economic choices lead to new technologies. Romer showed how businesses are encouraged to create new ideas and inventions.
After winning the prize, Romer explained his thinking. He wondered why progress in the world kept speeding up. He realized it's because ideas can be shared. If one person discovers something, everyone can use that idea.
On the same day he received his award, Romer married Caroline Weber. She is a professor of French Literature.
See also
- Endogenous growth theory
- Good governance
- Special economic zone
- Mathiness
