Ufuk Akcigit

Ufuk Akcigit is the Arnold C. Harberger Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and a Research Professor at the Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH), where he heads the Research Group on the Economic Gap between East and West Germany. He is also a Co-director of the Growth Academy, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). Additionally, he is a Fellow of the Econometric Society.

He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

His research focuses on Macroeconomics, Economic Growth, Firm Dynamics, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. He has made significant contributions to understanding business dynamism, the role of innovation in growth, and firm behavior in developing countries. His work often combines theoretical models with empirical analysis using microdata and historical sources, particularly examining knowledge diffusion between frontier and laggard firms.

His recent publications explore declining business dynamism, the impact of managerial delegation in developing countries, and the role of credit card financing for small businesses. He has pioneered real-time economic monitoring through the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index, which tracks near real-time employment trends across 422,000 small businesses in the US, Canada, and UK.

Akcigit has been honored with the Max Planck Humboldt Research Award and is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, recognizing his contributions to economic theory and empirical analysis.

He leads the Research Group on the Economic Gap between East and West Germany at IWH, investigating structural differences in productivity and innovation, and co-directs the Growth Academy which fosters interdisciplinary research on economic growth mechanisms.