NYU Abu Dhabi Welcomes Nobel Laureate Thomas J. Sargent

NYU Abu Dhabi Welcomes Nobel Laureate Thomas J. Sargent

The award-winning economist is teaching quantitative economics in the fall semester

The Nobel prize-winning American economist, Thomas J. Sargent, is teaching a course on quantitative economics this fall at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD).

Topics in International and Macroeconomics aims to teach students at NYUAD how to use the power of computing to analyze national economies by developing an understanding of international financial landscapes and discerning valuable monetary information. Sargent’s presence, both in and out of the classroom, is providing students with a unique opportunity to learn from a leading economist who was the previous president of the Econometric Society, the American Economic Association and the Society for Economic Dynamics; as well as an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science.

Sargent said: “I have heard many good things about the intelligence and work ethic of the students at NYUAD from my friends who have taught in economics and other departments.  I am also looking forward to interacting with the faculty in the economics and other departments, some of whom I already know and respect greatly. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity and privilege to work at NYUAD.”

Commenting on his experience thus far, Sargent remarked, “I am very impressed by the students because of their intelligence, training, and curiosity, in class we have mostly been using a `reverse Socratic method’. Students pose sharp questions to me. This wonderful process has shaped my lectures so far.  The Socratic method works only with top students, and so this `reverse Socratic method’ indicates extraordinary students.”

Sargent was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 2011 for his work on cause and effect in the sphere of macro-economics, a subject which he has worked on for nearly 50 years.

Sargent is the W.R. Berkley Professor of Economics and Business and joined New York University in 2002. He was awarded the Nemmers Prize in Economics alongside the Nobel Prize and his textbooks are considered required reading for modern economic graduates.

NYUAD Dean of Social Science Hervé Crès said, “Tom Sargent’s course emphasizes the future-oriented interdisciplinarity of economics at NYUAD, there is an important component of computer programming to complement the thorough economic analysis. It is a source of inspiration for students and faculty to see such an eminent scholar renewing his research agenda to embrace the evolution of social science, and produce relevant knowledge for the new world that unfolds under our eyes.”