David Autor, the Daniels (1972) and Gail Rubinfeld Professor in the Economics Department at MIT, has been appointed head of the Economics Department, effective July 1.
“David is a world-class labor economist,” says Agustín Rayo, Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. “He is also intelligent and insightful. I look forward to welcoming him to the school’s leadership team.”
Autor’s scholarship explores the labor-market effects of technological change and globalization on job polarization, skill demands, earnings levels and inequality, and electoral outcomes. He serves as faculty co-director of the James M. and Kathleen D. Stone Center on Inequality and Shaping the Future of Work.
Autor says, “I have been at MIT since 1999, and I owe my career to the institute, the department, and colleagues who have been kind.” “Stepping into this role is a chance to contribute to a place that has shaped me on every level.”
Autor succeeds John Gruber, the Ford Professor of Economics, who has served as department head through July 2023.
Autor says his goal is to “build on the stellar standard set by his faculty and students while taking into account budget strictures and the changing political landscape.”
He added, “Equally important, I want to lead the department toward the opportunities that advancing AI is opening up in how we teach and what research we do.”
Autor serves as co-director of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Labor Studies Program. He received a BA in psychology from Tufts University in 1989 and a PhD in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1999.
Autor has received numerous awards both for his scholarship – National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, Sherwin Rosen Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Labor Economics, Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2019, Society for Progress Medal in 2021 – and for his teaching, including the MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellowship, the James A. and Ruth Levitan Award for Excellence in Teaching, Undergraduate Economic Association Teaching Awards. and the Faculty Appreciation Award from the MIT Technology and Policy Program.
In 2020, Autor received the Heinz 25th Special Recognition Award from the Heinz Family Foundation for his work “transforming our understanding of how globalization and technological change are affecting jobs and earning prospects for American workers.”
In 2023, Autor was one of two researchers from all scientific fields to be named a NOMIS Distinguished Scientist.
In 2024, Autor was one of five senior scholars selected by the Schmidt Sciences Foundation as an AI2050 Senior Fellow.
