Pulitzer Prize winner, noted economists named KSG professors

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Samantha Power and economists Jeffrey Liebman and Alberto Abadie have been named professors at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG).

Power, whose book “A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide” won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction, will become professor of practice. Power is founding executive director of the Kennedy School’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and has served as lecturer in public policy. From 1993 to 1996 she was a freelance journalist who covered the wars in the former Yugoslavia for US News and World Report, The Boston Globe, and The Economist.

Liebman, who teaches public sector economics and American economic policy, will become professor of public policy. He first joined the Kennedy School faculty in 1996 as assistant professor. Liebman served in the Clinton administration from 1998 to 1999 as special assistant to the president for economic policy, and also coordinated the administration’s social security reform technical working group.

Abadie, whose main areas of research are econometrics, labor economics, and public finance, has been named professor of public policy. In his research, Abadie has developed econometric methods to evaluate the effects of public programs. He joined the Kennedy School faculty in 1999 and most recently served as associate professor of public policy.

“Each of these outstanding individuals has demonstrated extraordinary capacity both in and out of the classroom,” said Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood. “We anticipate they will play a significant role in helping the Kennedy School fulfill its dual mission of training public leaders and contributing to the solution of public problems.”

Ellwood has also promoted assistant professors Susan Dynarski, Mathias Risse, and Kim Williams to associate professor. Dynarski’s research uses applied microeconomics to determine the impact of government policy on individual behavior. Risse’s primary research areas are contemporary political philosophy and decision theory. Williams conducts research on American racial politics, social movements, and immigration policy.