Prakash Loungani


Prakash Loungani is a macroeconomist known for his work on the difficulty of forecasting recessions, which has been featured in the Financial Times and The Guardian and on the BBC. He has nudged macroeconomists towards adopting the goal of “inclusive growth” through research on understanding and lowering unemployment ; documenting the impact of austerity on inequality ; and uncovering the role of unfettered capital mobility across national borders in lowering labor’s share of income. His early research focused on understanding the impacts of oil prices on the economy. He is an advisor and senior personnel manager in the International Monetary Fund's Independent Evaluation Office. He blogs as The Unassuming Economist.

Career and education

Loungani earned his BA from the University of Bombay and his MA and PhD in economics from the University of Rochester. Prior to joining the IMF in 1998, he was an analyst at the Federal Reserve Board's International Finance Division, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago during 1990-92, and an assistant professor at the University of Florida during 1986-90. He was an Adjunct Professor of Management at Vanderbilt University from 2001 to 2017.

Publications

Loungani has over 30 publications in the leading field journals in economics, which places him among the top 5% of economists based on citations and impact, according to IDEAS/RePEc. In addition to his technical work, he is known for his profiles of famous economists, including Robert Barro, Dani Rodrik, Jeff Sachs, Joseph Stiglitz and Stanley Fischer.

Selected works