What makes a great economist? A willingness to address the toughest questions in political economy, certainly, and provide answers, no matter how unpopular they might be. But playfulness also matters.

Economics professor Alberto Alesina “more or less founded the modern field of political economy,” according to Economics Department Chair Jeremy C. Stein. But as Stein tried to write a tribute to ...

I met Alberto Alesina for the first time at Bocconi University, when he was writing his undergraduate thesis on inflation and asset price indexation. I still recall his happy smile the first time I ...

Alberto Alesina of Harvard attends a 2015 Group of Seven meeting of finance ministers in Dresden, Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images) My friend Alberto Alesina, the Nathaniel Ropes professor of ...

Harvard University’s Alberto Alesina died suddenly of a heart attack on May 23. He was 63. His long-time colleague and friend Larry Summers wrote that before him, “there was no academic field of ...

The stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White House After the international backlash against austerity, this is the counterblast. In defending austerity policies, Alberto ...

The world has lost a great economist. Alberto Alesina suddenly passed away from cardiac arrest while on a walk with his wife on May 23. He was 63. A prolific researcher, his voice will be missed in ...

Can austerity programs make economies grow? A fierce debate is going on, starting with a study by Alberto Alesina. Now, he replies to his critics. To me, Alesina sounds softer. He attacks Paul Krugman ...

Alberto Alesina was my brilliant and creative colleague at Harvard. He hired me from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business in 2005 and I recall him telling me to ask for a better ...

Don Aviv says that without a clear endgame to the US-Israeli war with Iran, Gulf countries will chart their own course. At first glance, reports that the US and Chinese governments are both ...