Augustin Bergeron

Augustin Bergeron is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Harvard University, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard (2021), with a dissertation recognized by the National Tax Association’s 2021 Outstanding Dissertation Award. Prior roles include a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Stanford King Center on Global Development and a tenure at the University of Southern California.

His research focuses on development economics, public economics, and political economy, emphasizing state capacity (particularly tax systems), historical social structures, and their impacts on economic development. His fieldwork in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) involves managing the non-profit O DEKA, which conducts economic surveys in the Kasai region. He is a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and affiliated with BREAD, J-PAL, CEGA, EGAP, and Harvard’s Center for International Development (CID).

Bergeron’s recent work explores topics like bureaucratic efficiency in tax collection, colonial legacies, and land formalization in weak states. His publications span experimental methods, historical analysis, and policy-relevant insights into governance and taxation. Beyond academia, his engagement with NGOs and policy organizations underscores his commitment to translating research into actionable development strategies.

His awards include the 2021 National Tax Association Dissertation Prize. His research has examined income inequality in colonial contexts and health disparities in the U.S., reflecting a broad yet cohesive intellectual trajectory.