David Dreyer Lassen

David Dreyer Lassen is Professor of Economics and currently serves as Rector of the University of Copenhagen, a position he assumed in 2025. He is affiliated with the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Department of Economics, and was previously the Center Director of the Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science (SODAS) and Vice-Chancellor for Research (2021–2025).

His educational background includes a PhD in Economics (2002) and an M.Sc. in Economics (1998), both from the University of Copenhagen, with additional training as a visiting student at Harvard University (1999–2000).

Lassen's research focuses on social data science, political economy, and public finance. He integrates applied machine learning, text-as-data methods, and administrative data to model social and economic life courses. His recent work emphasizes predictive analytics, privacy, and the societal implications of data science.

The 15 most recent publications reflect a strong interdisciplinary trend, combining economics, political science, and computer science. Key themes include nation-scale social network analysis, climate change perception, behavioral public policy, urban sustainability, and the ethics and efficacy of big data in prediction. These works appear in high-impact journals such as Nature Climate Change, PNAS, and Journal of Politics.

• ERC Advanced Grant (co-PI, 2020–)
• ERC Starting Grant (PI, 2013–2017)
• Villum Foundation Synergy Grant (Joint PI, 2020–)
• Sapere Aude Research Leader (2011–2014)
• UCPH Interdisciplinary Grant 'Social Fabric' (PI, 2013–2017)
• DNRF Center of Excellence (CEBI) (co-PI, 2017–)

Lassen has supervised 14 completed PhDs, 7 ongoing, and over 150 M.Sc. students. He founded the Master’s program in Social Data Science at the University of Copenhagen. He has received significant research funding as principal or joint investigator, demonstrating sustained leadership in large-scale academic projects. His advisory roles include the Independent Research Fund Denmark (chairman, 2019–2020), Statistics Denmark, and the Danish Competition Council.

He leads or contributes to major research initiatives such as SODAS and the 'Social Fabric' project, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration between economics, computer science, and social policy. His work is frequently presented at elite institutions including Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and the World Bank.