Arthur Blouin

Arthur Blouin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Toronto and affiliated faculty at the People's History Lab. His research centers on development economics with a geographic focus on Africa, integrating economic history, behavioural economics, and political economy to examine social and cultural drivers of economic development.

His primary research interests include:

• The roots of conflict and reconciliation processes
• Agreements under imperfect institutional frameworks
• Diversity dynamics and historical language evolution
• Social-cultural factors in economic development

Blouin's publication record reveals strong thematic continuity in African political economy, with recurring investigations into post-conflict reconstruction (particularly Rwanda), institutional legacies of historical events, and linguistic-cultural transmission mechanisms. His methodological signature combines quasi-experimental designs with novel data collection across 13 countries, emphasizing real-world policy implications through field experiments and historical analysis.

He maintains active research leadership through 12 projects involving extensive fieldwork (38 flights, 13 countries, including one deportation incident) and collaborates with scholars including Sharun Mukand, Julian Dyer, and Rocco Macchiavello. Current teaching includes ECO324 (Economic Development) and ECO403 (Topics in Development).