Yann Algan
Yann Algan (born in Paris April 3, 1974) is a French economist, Associate Dean of Pre-experience Programs and Professor of Economics at HEC Paris. He was previously and until 2021 a Professor of Economics of Sciences Po, where he was dean of the School of Public Affairs. His research interests include the digital economy, social capital and well-being. In 2009, Yann Algan (with Thomas Philippon) was awarded the Prize of the Best Young Economist of France for his contributions to economics in France. Biography. A native of Paris, Yann Algan earned a master's degree in  philosophy as well as a PhD from the University of Paris 1 in, respectively, 1998 and 2001, being awarded the Prize for the Best French PhD thesis in 2002. After his PhD, he became an assistant professor at the University Paris 1 and held a post-doctoral position at the University of California San Diego in 2002 before receiving his agrégation in economics in 2004. He then worked at the University of Paris-Est (2004–07) and later at the Paris School of Economics as Professor of Economics (2006–08), but then moved to Sciences Po in 2008, where he has since  been working. In 2015, Algan was appointed as dean of Sciences Po's School of Public Affairs. Additionally, he has held visiting appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at Harvard University. In parallel to his academic positions, he maintains affiliations with IZA and the CEPR, is a member of the Council of Economic Analysis and of the OECD High Level Expert Group on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, and co-director of the Research Center on Labor Market Policy, a research center involving Sciences Po, CREST, , Pole Emploi, Unedic and Alpha. Finally, he is a  senior editor of the academic review "Economic Policy". Research. Areas of Yann Algan's research include public economics, cultural economics, political economy, experimental economics, labour economics, social networks, and well-being. In his research, he has frequently collaborated with Pierre Cahuc. A key theme of Algan's research is the importance of trust in societies and economies. For example, in "The Society of Defiance" ("La société de défiance"; with Cahuc) Algan documents how distrust between French citizens among each other as well as with regard to the market economy and government has been growing since the 1990s, eroding civic behaviour , and argues that this growing distrust is both due and in turn fuels French corporatism, wherein the government regulates large aspects of citizens' lives. According to IDEAS/RePEc, Algan ranks among the top 3% of economists in terms of his research. Key findings of research include the following: