Costas Azariadis
Encyclopedia
Constantine Christos "Costas" Azariadis, is a macroeconomist who was born February 17, 1943 in Athens
, Greece
. He has worked on diverse topics, such as labor markets, business cycles, and economic growth
and development
. Azariadis originated and developed the concept of implicit contract theory
.
before earning his MBA and PhD
in economics at Carnegie Mellon during 1969-73. His doctoral dissertation at Carnegie Mellon was advised by Edward C. Prescott
and Robert Lucas
. His dissertation won him the Alexander Henderson Award
for excellence in economics, an award also won by Nobel Laureates Oliver Williamson, Dale Mortensen, Finn Kydland and Edward Prescott.
during 1973-76, a visiting researcher at Hebrew University in 1977, then at University of Pennsylvania
during 1977-92, and finally professor at UCLA since 1992. Since July 1, 2006, he is the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences at the Economics Department at Washington University while retaining a position at UCLA as a professor emeritus. He is a research fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis since 2006.
Azariadis was elected a Fellow of the Econometric Society
in 1989.
.
Author of:
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. He has worked on diverse topics, such as labor markets, business cycles, and economic growth
Economic growth
In economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...
and development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
. Azariadis originated and developed the concept of implicit contract theory
Implicit contract theory
In economics, implicit contracts refer to voluntary and self-enforcing long term agreements made between two parties regarding the future exchange of goods or services...
.
Education
Azariadis studied engineering in the National Technical University of AthensNational Technical University of Athens
The National Technical University of Athens , sometimes simply known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest and most prestigious higher education institutions of Greece....
before earning his MBA and PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in economics at Carnegie Mellon during 1969-73. His doctoral dissertation at Carnegie Mellon was advised by Edward C. Prescott
Edward C. Prescott
Edward Christian Prescott is an American economist. He received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2004, sharing the award with Finn E. Kydland, "for their contributions to dynamic macroeconomics: the time consistency of economic policy and the driving forces behind business cycles"...
and Robert Lucas
Robert Lucas
Robert Lucas may refer to:* Rob Lucas , Liberal member of the South Australian Legislative Council* Robert Lucas, 3rd Baron Lucas* Robert Lucas, Jr. , economist...
. His dissertation won him the Alexander Henderson Award
Alexander Henderson Award
The Alexander Henderson Award is presented to the student at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University who displays the best work in the field of economic theory. A large proportion of the winners of the award has later made contributions to economics that have changed the...
for excellence in economics, an award also won by Nobel Laureates Oliver Williamson, Dale Mortensen, Finn Kydland and Edward Prescott.
Academic trajectory
He was an assistant professor at BrownBrown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
during 1973-76, a visiting researcher at Hebrew University in 1977, then at University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
during 1977-92, and finally professor at UCLA since 1992. Since July 1, 2006, he is the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences at the Economics Department at Washington University while retaining a position at UCLA as a professor emeritus. He is a research fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis since 2006.
Azariadis was elected a Fellow of the Econometric Society
Econometric Society
The Econometric Society is an international society for the advancement of economic theory in its relation with statistics and mathematics. It was founded on December 29, 1930 at the Stalton Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio....
in 1989.
Implicit contract theory
Azariadis originated the concept of implicit contract theory. He proved that wage rigidities may represent a mechanism by which firms insure workers against risk, thus showing that wage rigidity was not necessarily evidence in favor of the Keynesian theory. Later Azariadis demonstrated that there are ways in which uncertainty is structured that imply that wages cannot perform their risk insurance role and simultaneously produce full employment. This result aided the Keynesian theory by providing a coherent microeconomic explanation of unemploymentUnemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
.
Major publications
- Azariadis, C. 1975. Implicit contracts and underemployment equilibria. Journal of Political Economy, 83: 1183-1202
- Azariadis, C. 1976. On the Incidence of Unemployment, Review of Economic Studies (February): 115-125.
- Azariadis, C. 1981. A Re-examination of Natural Rate Theory, American Economic Review (December): 946-960.
- Azariadis, C. 1981. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies, Journal of Economic Theory, (December): 380-396.
- Azariadis, C. 1983. Employment With Asymmetric Information, Quarterly Journal of Economics (Supplement): 157-172.
- Azariadis, C. and R. Guesnerie, 1986. Sunspots and Cycles, Review of Economic Studies (October): 725-738.
- Azariadis, C. and A. Drazen, 1990. Threshold Externalities in Economic Development, Quarterly Journal of Economics (May 1990): 501-526.
- Azariadis, C. 1996. The Economics of Poverty Traps, Part One: Complete Markets, Journal of Economic Growth, (December): 449-486.
- Azariadis, C. and L. Lambertini, 2003. Endogenous Debt Constraints in Lifecycle Economies, Review of Economic Studies: 461-488.
- Azariadis, C., J. Bullard, and L. Ohanian, 2004. Trend-Reverting Fluctuations in the Life-Cycle Model, Journal of Economic Theory: 334-356.
Author of:
- Intertemporal Macroeconomics. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, February 1993. ISBN 1-55786-366-0