Thomas Monnier

Thomas Monnier is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS), affiliated with the Center for Urban and Real Estate Studies (CURES) in Tokyo, Japan. Previously, he completed his PhD in Economics at Ecole Polytechnique - IP Paris, where he was affiliated with CREST and worked as a consultant for the World Bank.

His research lies at the intersection of urban, labor, and development economics, with a specific focus on how informal housing and informal employment relate to key challenges faced by cities in developing countries. His work addresses critical issues including disaster risk management, climate change vulnerability, migration patterns, and spatial segregation. Monnier employs structural models from urban economics to analyze these complex phenomena, particularly in the context of South Africa.

Monnier's research demonstrates both theoretical rigor and practical policy relevance, as evidenced by his work with the World Bank and his development of urban modeling tools like NEDUM-2D. His Job Market Paper on the informality trade-off in South Africa provides important insights into rural-urban migration dynamics and the complex role of the informal sector in developing economies.

His technical expertise includes urban modeling, structural econometrics, and spatial analysis, with applications to informal housing regulation and flood protection investments in developing countries. Monnier's work bridges academic research with practical policy applications, particularly in the context of urbanization challenges in the Global South.