Kevin Kuruc

Kevin Kuruc is a Research Fellow and Managing Director of the Population Wellbeing Initiative at the University of Texas at Austin, and a Senior Research Affiliate of the Global Priorities Institute at the University of Oxford. He holds a background as an assistant professor of economics at the University of Oklahoma and will join Middlebury College's economics department in fall 2025. His research focuses on macroeconomics—particularly growth and development—as well as agricultural and environmental economics. Key themes include the interplay of demographic change, technological progress, and sustainability, with recent emphasis on quantifying animal welfare as an externality in food production systems.

Research interests span macroeconomic policy, climate change mitigation, and ethical frameworks for evaluating population dynamics. His work systematically examines trade-offs between population growth's innovation benefits and environmental costs, often integrating welfare economics and inclusive policy design. Upcoming work includes long-term projections of animal agriculture under climate and population externalities, and the effectiveness of IMF interventions in macroeconomic crises.

Publications highlight methodological innovations such as synthetic control analyses and inclusive welfare functions. His 2023 paper on population decline's climate impact and 2025 survey on meat-consumer attitudes exemplify his dual focus on theoretical rigor and practical policy relevance. Kuruc’s interdisciplinary approach bridges economics, ethics, and environmental science, with a strong emphasis on actionable solutions for sustainable development.