Dietrich E. VollrathE-mail: devollrath@uh.edu
Web: http://www.growthecon.com
Office: 713-743-3806
Fax: 713-743-3798

Department of Economics
University of Houston
220B Science BuildingHouston, TX 77204-5019

Professional
Affiliations

Chair, Dept. of Economics, University of Houston, 2019-presentProfessor, University of Houston, 2017-present
Associate Professor, University of Houston, 2011-2017
Assistant Professor, University of Houston, 2005-2011
Visiting Professor, Dartmouth College, (Summers) 2011-2019

Education

Brown University, Ph.D., Economics, 2005
Brown University, M.A., Economics, 2004
University of Michigan, B.A., Economics, 1994

Books

D. Vollrath, Fully Grown: Why a Stagnant Economy is a Sign of Success, University ofChicago Press, 2020.
C. I. Jones and D. Vollrath, Introduction to Economic Growth, W.W. Norton and Co.,New York, NY. 2023 (4th edition) and 2013 (3rd edition).

Publications

D. Vollrath, “The elasticity of aggregate output with respect to capital and labor,”
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 16(4):470-504, 2024.
T. R. Johnson, D. Vollrath. “The role of land in temperate and tropical agriculture,”
Economica, 87(348):901-937, 2020.
R. Jedwab, D. Vollrath. “The urban mortality transition and poor country urbanization,” American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 11(1):223-75, 2019.
M. Eberhardt, D. Vollrath. “The effect of agricultural technology on the speed ofdevelopment,” World Development, 109:483-496, 2018.
D. Gollin, R. Jedwab, D. Vollrath. “Urbanization with and without industrialization,”
Journal of Economic Growth, 21(1):35-70, 2016.
R. Jedwab, D. Vollrath. “Urbanization without growth in historical perspective,” Explorations in Economic History, 58(C):1-21, 2015.
S. G. Craig, E. C. Hoang, D. Vollrath. “Household response to government debt:
Evidence from life insurance holdings,” Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 47(5):819845, 2015.
D. Vollrath. “The efficiency of human capital allocations in developing countries,”
Journal of Development Economics, 108:106-118, 2014.
I. Hoxha, S. Kalemli-Ozcan, D. Vollrath. “How big are the gains from international
financial integration?” Journal of Development Economics, 103(C):90-98, 2013.

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D. Vollrath. “Measuring aggregate agricultural labor effort in dual economies,” Eurasian
Economic Review, 3(1):39-58, June 2013.
D. Vollrath. “Inequality and school funding in the rural united states, 1890,” Explorations in Economic History, 50(2):267-284, 2013.
D. Vollrath. “Land tenure, population, and long-run growth,” Journal of Population
Economics, 25(3):833-852, July 2012.
D. Vollrath. “The agricultural basis of comparative development,” Journal of Economic
Growth, 16:343-370, 2011.
D. Vollrath. “The dual economy in long-run development,” Journal of Economic
Growth, 14(4):287-312, 2009.
D. Vollrath. “How important are dual economy effects for aggregate productivity?”
Journal of Development Economics, 88(2):325-334, 2009.
O. Galor, O. Moav, D. Vollrath. “Inequality in landownership, the emergence of humancapital promoting institutions, and the great divergence,” Review of Economic Studies,
76(1):143-179, 2009.
D. Vollrath. “Land distribution and international agricultural productivity,” American
Journal of Agricultural Economics, 89(1):202-216, 2007.
Book Chapters A. Adeyinka, S. Salau, D. Vollrath. “Structural change and the possibilities for future
growth in Nigeria,” In M. McMillan, D. Rodrik, C. Sepulveda, editors, Structural Change,
Fundamentals, and Growth: A Framework and Case Studies. IFPRI, 2017.
Public Writing Economic Growth Blog (Substack), 2023-present
Growth Economics Blog (Self-hosted), 2013-2023
The wrong kind of city?, Asterisk Magazine, Sep. 2024.
The grandchildren of Keynes, Interneconomics, 2023, 58(6):347-348.
Why isn’t the whole world rich?, Asterisk Magazine, Dec. 2022.
Economic growth is stagnating, but there’s more to the story, Pairagraph, Nov. 2020.
Why a new wave of economists are championing slow growth, On Point (NPR), Feb.
2020.
The tech revolution hasn’t revolutionized economic growth. The Hill, Jul. 2018.
Slumping productivity: We’re victims of our own success. The Hill, Jun. 2017.
Evolving research on growth and development. Development Policy Review, 34(6), 907910, Nov. 2016.
There’s no limit to Google’s market power. New York Times Room for Debate, April
28th, 2016.
A brief history of economic growth. Perspectives, King’s College London, Fall 2015.

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ServiceActivities

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences strategic planning committee, 2022–2023
Associate Graduate Director, Department of Economics, 2014–2019
Graduate admissions director, Department of Economics, 2013–2019
Macroeconomic Hiring Committee, Department of Economics, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2016,2019
Executive Committee, Department of Economics, 2012–2014, 2015–2017
Dissertation Fellowship Committee, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, 2012
Ross Lence Teaching Award Selection Committee, College of Liberal Arts and Social
Sciences, 2013, 2015, 2016

Professional
Activities

Co-Editor, Economic Inquiry, 2015–present
Associate Editor, Journal of Development Economics, 2015–present
Associate Editor, Economic Inquiry, 2009–2012
Member, American Economic Association
Referee, American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, American Economic
Journal: Macroeconomics, Economic Journal, Journal of Economic Growth, Review ofEconomics and Statistics, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Development Economics, Macroeconomic Dynamics, Review of Development Economics, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Economics, Economica, Resource and Energy
Economics, Journal of Public Economics, Review of Economic Dynamics, Scandinavian
Journal of Economics, Canadian Journal of Economics, Economic Inquiry, Journal of theEuropean Economic Association, World Bank Economic Review, World Development,
European Economic Review, Oxford Economic Papers

Advising

Dissertation Advisor: Mike Hsu (2016, Hamilton College), Nadya Abramava (2016,Hanover Research), Edson Sobrinho (2015, Office of the Presidency of Brazil), Mahboobeh Asghari (2015, Winona State), Doruk Ilgaz (2013, FactSet), Elisabetta Gentile(2012, National University Singapore)
Dissertation Committee: Mehedi Hasan Oni (2024), Yewande Olapade (2019), Celine
Boulenger (2017), Subash Khatry (2017), Amrita Dhar (2016), Volodymyr Korsun (2015),Wen Long (2015), Jarrod Hunt (2014), Emiliano Luttini (2014), Sine Tepe (2014), Lena
Ogrokhina (2013), Gokcen Ogruk (2013), Shreyasee Das (2012), Teodora Stoica (2012),
Edward Hoang (2010), Amelie Carlton (2010), Roberto Coronado (2010), Indrit Hoxha(2009), Sreenath Majumder (2009), Parul Mathur (2009), Cahit Guven (2008), Mayank
Guatam (2007), Levent Bulut (2007)
Undergraduate Thesis: Sean Soares (2013), Monalisa Chandra (2008), Shreyasee Das(2007)3Teaching

Intermediate Macroeconomics (Undergraduate, UH), 2005–2012
Econometrics (Undergraduate, Dartmouth), 2011–2019
Economic Growth (Undergraduate, UH), 2014–2024
American Economic Growth (Undergraduate, UH), 2022
Macroeconomics I (Graduate, UH), 2006, 2007, 2009–2015, 2017–2019
Growth and Development (Graduate, UH), 2007, 2008, 2011–2019, 2023
3rd Year Research Workshop (Graduate, UH), 2014-2018

Honors,Grants,and Awards

Smith Richardson Foundation, PI, “The Contingent Economy”, $111,000, 2023
Economist Books of the Year (for Fully Grown), 2020
Winner, Ross Lence Teaching Award, 2010
Finalist, Provost Teaching Award, 2010
Finalist, Ross Lence Teaching Award, 2009
University of Houston New Faculty Grant, 2006
Dissertation Fellowship, Brown University, 2004-2005
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Fellowship, 2002-2004

InvitedPresentations

2023: World Bank, Technology Enabled Disruption Conference (Richmond Fed), Vereinf. Socialpolitik keynote (Regensburg)
2022: Colorado State
2021: Iowa State, Clark
2020: UNC-Asheville, Southern Methodist U., Texas Tech
2019: Sewanee (Georgescu-Roegen Lecture)
2018: Dalhouise University, York University, Southern Economic Association
2017: Deep-rooted Factors in Comparative Development (Brown), Texas A&M Ag Econ,George Washington University
2016: McGill University, CESIfo (Munich), DEGIT (U. of Nottingham)
2015: George Mason University, Clemson, LSU, Southern Economic Association
2014: Historical Persistence in Comparative Development (Williams College)
2013: NBER Growth Meeting (San Francisco), World Bank Agriculture and Poverty
workshop
2012: South Florida University, World Bank Structural Change Conference, Universityof Oklahoma, Southern Economic Association Meetings
2011: Texas A&M University, Indiana University, Williams College, NBER Growth Meeting (discussant)2010: NBER Growth Meeting (San Francisco), Center for Study of African Economies
Conference (Oxford), World Bank Land Conference, CEPR Workshop on Sustained Economic Growth (Barcelona)
2009: Northeast University Development Conference (NEUDC), University of Michigan
42008: IEFS Winter Meetings, Southern Economic Association Meetings, University ofCopenhagen2007: NBER IFM Summer Meeting, NBER EFG Summer Meeting, Baylor University
2006: Rice University
2005: University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Clemson University, Universityof Houston, Hunter College (CUNY), United States Naval Academy
2004: Northeast University Development Conference (NEUDC), International Monetary
Fund, Brown UniversityWorkexperienceAndersen Consulting, 1995-1997
PriceWaterhouseCoopers Consulting, 1997-1999
Independent computer systems contractor, 1999-2000

PersonalMarried, two children
Citizenship: US
Languages: English (native), German (surprisingly poor)

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