CURRICULUM VITAE
NAME:
Yaw Nyarko
ADDRESS:
Office: Home:
New
York University 4 Washington Square Village
Dept.
of Economics Apt. #11L
19
West 4th Street Rm 505 New
York City
New
York, N.Y. 10012 N.Y. 10012
TEL: 212‑998‑8928(O) TEL: 212‑533-0202(H)
e‑mail: yaw.nyarko@nyu.edu
home
page: www.nyarko.com
EDUCATION
B.A. (Economics and Mathematics), University of Ghana, 1982.
M.A. (Economics), Cornell University, 1985.
Ph.D.
(Economics), Cornell University, 1986.
EMPLOYMENT
and DIRECTORSHIPS
Fall
1998 - present Professor of Economics New York University
2000
– present Founding Director of
Africa House, NYU
2000 – present Founding Co-Director of the
Development Research Institute (NYU)
June
2002 – Jan 2008 Vice Provost for Globalization and Multi-Cultural Affairs, NYU
(with responsibility for NYU’s
International campuses and programs, and provostial liaison to the NYU Schools
of Business, Education and Social Sciences in Arts and Sciences)
2003
and 2004 Visiting
Professor at Ashesi University (Accra, Ghana)
2001 – 2003 Member of Founding Management
Team to establish Ashesi University (Ghana’s first secular private non-profit
liberal arts university)
1999-2000 Social Science Research
Council, Program in Applied Economics
Program Director
Fall
01 – Spring 02 Visiting Fellow, Yale
Growth Center and the Cowles Foundation
Spring
1998,2000 Fellow, Cowles Foundation,
Yale University
1996
– 1998 Director of Graduate
Studies, New York University
Summer
1998 Visiting Professor,
University of Venice.
Dec.
1994 Consultant,
Institute of Empirical Economics, Minneapolis Fed. Res. Bank
Fall
1994 Visiting
Professor, Univ. of Pennsylvannia
Summer
1994 Visiting Professor,
University of Venice.
Summer
1991 Visiting
Fellow, I.A.E., Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.
1986‑88 Assistant
Professor of Economics, Brown University.
FIELDS OF
SPECIALIZATION Human Capital Theory, Growth and Economic Development,
Migration and Brain Drain Studies, Game Theory, Learning Theory.
Publications and Working
Papers
I.
Human Capital Theory/Labor Economics
1. “Economic
Development as Problem Solving: A Model
of Guns, Germs and Steel,” Manuscript,
New York University (2008).
2.
"Is the Brain Drain Good for Africa?" with William Easterly in “Skilled Migration
Today: Prospect, Problems and Policies,”
(eds) Jagdish Bhagwati and Gordon Hanson,
Russell
Sage, 2008 (forthcoming).
3. "Stepping
Stone Mobility" with Boyan
Jovanovic, Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, June 1997, vol. 46, pp. 289-326.
4. "Learning
by Doing and the Choice of Technology," with Boyan Jovanovic, Econometrica,
(1996), 64, 6, pp. 1299-1310.
5. "A Bayesian Learning Model Fitted to a Variety of
Empirical Learning Curves," with
Boyan Jovanovic, Brookings Papers on
Economic Activity: Microeconomics Issue (1), 1995, 247-299.
6. "The
Transfer of Human Capital," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control
with Boyan Jovanovic, 1995, 19,
1033-1064.
7.
"Research
and Productivity," with Boyan Jovanovic, in "Creation and Transfer of Knowledge:
Institutions and Incentives" , (eds) Giorgio
Barba Navaretti, Partha Dasgupta, Karl-Göran Mäler, Domenico Siniscalco.
8. “The New Growth Theory,” Chapter in The Encyclopedia of Life Support
Systems (EOLSS), UNESCO, 2002, (www.eolss.net),
in Fundamental Economics, Edited by : Mukul Majumdar.
II. Experimental Economics
8. “An
Experimental Study of Belief Learning Using Real Beliefs," joint with Andy
Schotter, Econometrica, (2002).
9. "On the Informational Content of
Advice: A Theoretical and Experimental Study," (joint with Andrew Schotter
and Barry Sopher), Economic Theory,
2005
III. Game Theory and Bayesian Learning Models
10. "Bayesian
Learning and Convergence to Nash equilibrium Without Common Priors," Economic Theory, 1998, 11(3),
643-656.
11. "Convergence
in Economic Models with Bayesian Hierarchies of Beliefs," Journal of
Economic Theory, 1997, 74(2), 266-296.
12. "Savage-Bayesians
Play a Repeated Game," in "The Dynamics of Norms," (eds.) C. Bicchieri, R. Jeffrey, and B.
Skyrms, Cambridge University Press, (1996).
13. "Savage
Bayesian Models of Economics," with N. Kiefer in "Essays in
Learning and Rationality in Economics and Games" (eds.) A. Kirman and
M. Salmon, Basil Blackell Press, (1995).
14. "Advances
in Learning Theory," with N. Yannelis and M. Woodford, Economic Theory, 1994, 4(6), 811-820.
15. "Bayesian
Learning in Leads to Correlated Equilibria in Normal Form games," Economic Theory, 1994, 4(6), 821-841.
16. "On the
Convexity of the Value Function in Bayesian Optimal Control Problems," Economic
Theory, 1994, 4, 303-309.
17. "Learning
in Mis‑Specified Models and the Possibility of Cycles," Journal
of Economic Theory, 55, 416-427, 1991.
18. "The Number
of Equations Versus the Number of Unknowns: The convergence of Bayesian
Posterior Processes," Journal of
Economic Dynamics and Control, 15, 687-713, 1991.
19. "Optimal
Control of a Nonlinear Regression
Process with Unknown Parameters," with N. Kiefer, Lecture Notes in Control and Information
Sciences, Springer Verlag, 1989.
20. "Optimal
Control of an Unknown Linear Process with Learning" with N. Kiefer, International Economic Review,
30(3), pp. 571‑586, 1989.
21. "Control of
a Linear Regression Process with Unknown Parameters," with N. Kiefer in "Dynamic
Econometric Modelling" (eds). W. Barnet and H. White, Cambridge
University Press, 1988.
IV. Growth Theory
22. "Optimal
Growth with Unobservable Resources and Learning," with Lars Olson, Journal of Economic Behavior and
Organization, May, 1996, vol 29, pp. 465‑491.
23. "The
Stochastic Growth Model when Utility Depends on Both Consumption and the Stock
Level," with Prof. Lars Olson, Economic
Theory, 1994, 4, 791-797.
24. "On the
Existence of Optimal Processes in Non‑stationary Environments" with T. Mitra, Zeitshrift fur
Nationalokonomie, 53, 245-270, 1991.
25. "Stochastic
Dynamic Resource Models With Stock‑Dependent Rewards," with L.
Olson, Journal of Economic Theory, 55, 161-168, 1991.
26. "Dynamic
Optimization Under Uncertainty: Non‑convex feasible set" with M. Majumdar and T. Mitra, in "Joan
Robinson and Modern Economic Theory," (Ed.) G. R. Feiwel, MacMillan
Press, New York, 1989.
27. "On
Characterizing the Optimality of Stochastic Competitive Processes" Journal
of Economic Theory, 45(2), 316‑329, 1988.
Reprinted in "Decentralization in
Infinite Horizon Economies," Edited by M. Majumdar, Westview Press,
1992.
V. Miscellany
28. Review of the
book "Games, Strategies and Managers," by John McMillan, Journal of Economic Literature, XXXI,
890-891.
29. Study Guide to
accompany "Microeconomics: A Modern
Approach," by A. Schotter, Harper Collins, 1994.
UNPUBLISHED
WORKING PAPERS or PAPERS UNDER PREPARATION FOR SUBMISSION TO JOURNALS.
1. "Learning,
Quantal Response Equilibrium and Equilibrium in Beliefs” Manuscript, 2001.
2. "Comparing Learning Models With Ideal
Micro-Experimental Data Sets", joint with Andy Schotter, under review at
the Amercian Economic Review.
3. "The
Truth is in the Eye of the Beholder: or Equilibrium in Beliefs and Rational
Learning in Games ," Manuscript, 1998."The Content of Human
Capital," with Boyan Jovanovic.
4. “Learning Toward Quantal Response
Equilibria,” Manuscript 2000, under review at Games and Economic Behavior.
5. "The
Types of a Bayesian Equilibrium"
C.V. Starr Working Paper #93-36, NYU.
6. "The
Savage-Bayesian Foundations of Economic Dynamics," C.V. Starr WP #93-35,
NYU.
7. "On Bayesian Learning in Optimal
Control Problems," C.V. Starr Working Paper #90-02.
8. "Most
Games Violate the Harsanyi Doctrine," C.V. Starr Working Paper #91-39.
9. "Bayes'
Rational Equilibria" C.V. Starr Working Paper #89-05.
10. "Learning
and Agreeing-To-Disagree Without Common Priors," C.V. Starr WP #91-51,
NYU.
AWARDS, GRANT
AND FELLOWSHIP PROPOSALS
2003-2006 National
Science Foundation Grant #SES-0425118 “The Impact of Advice on Decision-Making”
with A. Schotter and B. Sopher.
2001-2002 National
Science Foundation Grant #SBR-0111640
“Advice and Beliefs in Experimental Games” with A. Schotter and Barry Sopher.
1999-2001 National
Science Foundation Grant #SBR-98118621
“An Experimental Study of Learning in Repeated Games Using Real Beliefs” with
Andrew Schotter.
1998-00
National Science Foundation
Grant #SBR-9810723
“Skills, Optimism and Growth: A Bayesian Analysis.”
1995-98
National Science Foundation
Grant # SBR-9422763
“Human Capital and
Bayesian Information Theory, ” with Boyan Jovanovic.
1992-1993 New York University Presidential Fellowship.
1991 New
York University Curricula Development Fund
1991 New
York University Challenge Fund
1984 ‑ 86 Floyd
Mundy Fellowship (Cornell)
1983 ‑ 84 A.D.
White Presidential Fellowship (Cornell)
SELECTED SPEECHES
AND CONSULTANCIES
1. Keynote Address and Background Technical
Paper for the UN Economic Commission for Africa Spring 2007, on Knowledge and
Employment.
2. Background Technical Paper for the World
Bank World Capital Flight Conference 2007, and presentation in Pretoria.
3. Background Technical Paper for the World
Bank World Development Report 1998/99 “Knowledge and Development.”
EDITORSHIPS
AND MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
Associate
Editor, Journal of Economic Theory;
Associate
Editor, Economic Theory, 2001-2004;
Editorial Board
Member, Journal of African Development (formerly Journal of African Finance and
Economic Development, JAFED).
National Science
Foundation Advisory Panel for Economics (member, 2001-2003)
Member of
Econometrics Society and the Society for
Economic Dynamics.
REFEREEING: Econometrica,
Journal of Economic Theory, Review of Economic studies, International Economic
Review, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Journal of Political Economy,
Economic Theory, National Science Foundation, etc, etc.
TEACHING
AT NEW YORK
UNIVERSITY:
The Economics of
Speculation - (Ph.D., , almost every year since 1994)
Econ. of
Information and Uncertainty (Graduate, Fall '88, Spring
'91, '92, '94).
Topics in
Dynamic Economics and Growth (Graduate, Spring '89 and '90).
Microeconomic
Theory (Graduate Core class: Each fall 1989-01).
Games, Decisions
and Strategy (Undergrad.: Each Spring
1989-94.)
Societies and
The Social Sciences: An Economics Perspective (Undergrad. Fall 1996-99)
AT BROWN
UNIVERSITY:
Economics 205:
Microecon. Theory (Graduate Core class, Fall 1987)
Economics 202:
Math. for Economists (Grad., Spring 1988).
Economics 111
& 113: Principles of Micro.
(Undergraduate level, fall 1986, fall and Spring 1987)
Economics 283:
Dynamic Optimization and Econ. Growth (Graduate level, Spring 1987 and 1988).
COMMITTEE
SERVICE AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY.
NYU Provost
Search Committee, 2001-2
Faculty of Arts
and Science Promotion and Tenure Committee 2000-2003
GSAS Financial
Aid Committee 1998-2001
Director of
Graduate Studies Fall '95 - 2000.
FAS Dean’s
Search Committee 1999-2000
FCC Steering
Committee 99-present
Internal Faculty
Student Committee 99-00
GSAS Task Force
on Financial Aid 1998
GSAS Financial
Aid Committee 1998-2001
Africana Center
Search Committee 1997 - present.
Economics Dept.
Recruitment Committee, '88‑'90, '91-92, '93-'94, '97-present .
Core
Microeconomics Field Exam committee. '89 to present.
C.V. Starr
Steering Committee. 1990‑91:
Merit and
Evaluation Committee, '91-'92 and fall '95 to the present.
CONFERENCES
AND SEMINARS in 2007
Nov 15 – 17, 2007: African
Economics Conference, Addis Ababa, hosted by the UN Economic
Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African
Development Bank (AfDB).
Oct.30 – Nov 4, 2007: World
Bank-Reserve Bank of South Africa Conference on Capital Flight
in Pretoria, South Africa.
Oct. 2-4, 2007: UN expert group meeting on “Full Employment
and Decent Work for All”,
(UN Division for Social Policy and
Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)).
Sept. 2007: The Cornell University Reunion Conference
on International Development,
organized by
Ravi Kanbur.
August 2007: Review Panel on
the Economics Departments at Cornell University.
July 27, 2007: Trade as a
Vehicle for Peace in Africa Colloquium at the Mandela Institute of
the
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
July 11-12, 2007: The Initiative
for Policy Dialogue (IPD, Columbia University) Task Force on
Africa, At the University of Manchester’s Brooks
World Poverty Institute, organized by Joseph Stiglitz.
May 2007:
Keynote Address on “Knowledge and Employment” at the UN Economic
Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa (Committee on Development Information, CODI
V).
CONFERENCES
AND SEMINARS in 2006
Dec. 12,
2006: Univ. of Washington St. Louis,
Dept. of Economics “Economic Development as Problem Solving."
Dec 5, 2006: Mini-Conference on Migration at NYU
organized by Yaw Nyarko and William Easterly.
Nov. 2006: Annual Meetings of LACEA-LAMES (Latin American Caribbean Economics Association
and Latin American Econometrics Society) in Mexico City (ITAM).
Sept.
2006: Center for Global Development, CGD
roundtable discussion on migration and development, organized by Nancy
Birdsall.
July 6 –8, 2006: The Society for Economic Dynamics (SED)
annual meetings, Vancouver Canada.
April 25,
2006: World Bank Conference, "Impact
of International Migration and Remittances on Growth" - PREM
CONFERENCES
AND SEMINARS in 2005
Oct. 2005: Annual Meetings of LACEA (Latin American
Caribbean Economics Association) in Paris at the American University of
Paris.
March 2005: Columbia University,
Skilled Migration Conference, organized by Jagdish
Bhagwati.
CONFERENCES
AND SEMINARS in 2004
November 2004: Cornell University, Institute for African
Development, "Some Thoughts on Foreign Aid"
CONFERENCES
AND SEMINARS in 1999
Feb. 8: Stanford
and San Francisco Fed. Reserve Bank Conference on Monetary Economics.
April 99: Northwestern University
Aug. 99: Cancun, Mexico Latin American Meetings
of the Econometrics Society
CONFERENCES
AND SEMINARS in 1998
July 1998: Stony Brook Summer Institute on Game Theory and Economics,
S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook, New York.
Oct. 22, ‘98: Princeton University
Nov. 11, ‘98: Rutgers University
Dec. 5, 1998: NBER conference on Monetary Economics
CONFERENCES
AND SEMINARS in 1997
AEA meetings,
New Orleans, Jan. 1997.
Economic Theory
Meetings, Istanbul, Summer 1997.
SEDC meetings,
Keble College, Oxford, Summer 1997.
Seminars in
1997: Univ. of Arizona, Northwestern
Univ., U. of Pittsburg, Univ. of Maryland, Georgetown Univ., Univ. of
Minnesota.
CONFERENCES
AND SEMINARS SINCE 1994
April 19-20,
‘96: Carnegie-Rochester
Conference, Rochester.
April 18, ‘96: University of Pennsylvannia
Jan 5-7, 1996: American Economics Association
Meetings, San Francisco.
Dec. 8, 1995: Southern Methodist Univ., Dallas.
Oct.
13, 1995: ITAM, Mexico City,
Mexico.
Sept. 21-23, '95: Conference on Knowledge and Productivity, FEEM,
Castelgandolfo, Italy
April 6, 1995: Cornell
University
Jan 1995: AEA/Econometic
Society Meetings, Washington D.C.
Nov. 1994: Univ.
of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Oct. 1994: Rochester
University
Oct. 1994: Georgetown University
July 1994: Northwestern
University Summer Macro Workshop.
July 1994: Society
for Economic Dynamics and Control Meetings,
UCLA
Paper
(joint with B. Jovanovic) presented at
Plenary Session.
June 1994: Econometrics
Society Meetings, Quebec City, Canada
April 1994: University
of Chicago.
March, 1994: NBER Growth Meetings, Harvard University.
March 9th, '94: Princeton
Univ.
OTHER
CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS
Dec. 3-4,
'93: Washington Univ.
Oct. 25th,
'93; Univ. of Virginia.
Oct. 12,
'93: University of Toronto, Seminar
presentation.
Aug 1-10,
'93: Stanford University SITE meetings.
July 1,
1993: Brown University Mini-conference.
May '93: SEDC meetings, Cephalonia, Greece.
February 13,
1993: Seminar at University of Laval, Quebec City, Canada.
August 5-9,
1992: Workshop on Cooperation and Dynamics in Games," Northwestern
University.
June 17-22,
1992: Conference on Knowledge and Rationality, Castellioncello, Italy.
June 13,
1992: Society for Economic Dynamics and
Control meetings, Montreal Canada.
April 23,
1992: Cornell University.
April 3, 1992:
University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada.
March 28-30,
1992: Decentralization Conference, Tucson, Arizona.
March 14, 1992:
McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Jan. 3-5, 1992:
A.E.A./E.S. Meetings in New Orleans.
Oct. 17, 1991:
University of Chicago.
Oct. 16, 1991:
Northwestern University.
Oct. 4, 1991:
Brown University.
Sept. 17, 1991:
Cornell University.
July 22-23,
1991: Stony Brook Summer Institute on Game Theory and Economics, S.U.N.Y. Stony
Brook, New York.
July 1-12, 1991:
Workshop on Learning and Rationality in Economics,
European
University Institute, Florence, Italy.
June 24-27,
1991: International Conference of Game Theory, University of Florence and European University Inst., Florence, Italy.
June 14, 1991: Seminar at Universitat de Pompeu Fabra,
Barcelona.
May 28th, 1991:
Seminar at the Institut d'Analisi Economica,
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.
May 17-18, 1991: Univ. of Penn. Mini-Conference on Learning.
April 12‑14,
1991: The N.S.F. Decentralization Conf. Cornell Univ.
April 3‑8,
1991: Workshop on "Learning,
Rationality and Games,"
Santa Fe Institute, New Mexico.
March 8, 1991:
University of Pennsylvannia, Philadelphia.
December 11,
1990: Bell Corp., New Jersey.
(Presented
my paper "Bayesian Rationality and Learning without Common Priors" or variants at the above
seminars).
November 21,
1990: Georgetown University
(Presented my paper "Learning in Mis‑Specified
Models and the
Possibility of Cycles," )
October 23,
1990: California Technology Institute.
October 25,
1990: University of California at Los Angeles.
October 26,
1990: University of California at Riverside.
(Presented my paper "Bayesian
Rationality and Learning Without
Common Priors," at the above schools.)
August 22‑28,
1990: The Econometric Society Sixth World Congress,
Barcelona,
Spain.
June 28‑30, 1990: Society for Economic Dynamics and
Control
Conference,
University of Minnesota.
June 20‑26, 1990: Conference on Learning and
Expectations, Univ. of Sienna, Italy.
May 11‑13,
1990: Mid‑Western Math‑Economics
Meetings, Indiana Univ. (Presented my
paper "Learning in Mis‑Specified Models and the Possibility of
Cycles," at above conferences.)
May 25‑27,
1990: Conference on Economic Development, SUNY at Buffalo.
May 4, 1989:
Seminar at University of California, Riverside.
April 28, 1989:
Mid‑Western Math‑Economics Meetings, Purdue Univ.
April 10, 1989:
Seminar at Columbia University, New York.
March 31, 1989:
Seminar at New York University, New York.
March 9, 1989: Seminar at Cornell University,
Ithaca.
In each of the
above seminars I presented the paper "Bayes' Rational Equilibria."
Dec. 28‑30, 1989: American Econ. Assoc. Meetings, Atlanta.
November, 1989:
Southern Economics Association Meetings, Orlando.
April 21‑23,
1989: NBER Conference on General
Economic Equilibrium, University of Pennsylvannia
July 17‑22,
1989: Game Theory Conference, Ohio State University.
Feb. 5, 1988:
Seminar at Boston College, Boston.
March 2, 1988:
Seminar at New York, New York.
April 1988:
Seminar at Rutgers University.
At the above
three seminars the paper "The Convergence of Dynamic
Bayesian
Economic Models".
June 2‑4,
1988: Seminar on "Learning From Endogeneous Data," Cornell
University, Ithaca.
Dec. 28‑30,
1987: American Economics Association Meetings, Chicago.
June 1987:
Conference on Monetary Economics and Capital Theory,
Northwestern University
June 1987:
Econometrics Society Summer Meetings, Berkeley.
Feb. 9,
1987: Seminar at New York University.
Dec. 28‑31,
1986: American Economics Association
Meetings, New Orleans.
In the above two
conferences the paper "The Convergence of Bayesian Posterior
Processes" was presented.
Dec. 5, 1986:
NSF‑NBER conference on Theoretical Industrial
Organization and Mathematical
Economics, University f Pittsburgh.
Summer, 1986:
Conference on Dynamic Econometrics, University of Texas.
In the above
conference the paper "Optimal Control of an unknown linear process with
Learning" with Nick Kiefer was presented.
Fall 1985:
Mid-Western Mathematical Economics Meetings, Michigan State University.
REFERENCES
Professor David
Easley Professor L. Blume
Department of
Economics Department
of Economics
Uris Hall Uris Hall
Cornell
University Cornell University
Ithaca N.Y. 14853 Ithaca
N.Y. 14853
Tel: 607‑255‑4254 Tel: 607-255-9530
Professor Tom
Sargent
New York
University
Dept. of
Economics
19 West 4th
Street.
New York NY10012
Graduate
Students:
Soumitra Mallick
(main advisor)
Gautam Barua
Allan Corns
Michele Piccione
Gustavo Rodriguez
Olympia Kalara
Chung Tse
Gabriel Duque
Gabriele Galati
Roberto Perli
and many
more.