Finn Kydland

Nobel Laureate Economist

Eminent Panel Member

Kydland, born in 1943 in Norway, earned his Ph.D. at Carnegie-Mellon University. In 1978 he joined the faculty of Carnegie-Mellon University. Kydland is now the director of the Laboratory for Aggregate Economics and Finance as well as a professor in the Department of Economics, at the University of California, Santa Barbera. Kydland has authored many publications on macroeconomics, economic growth, monetary economics and international economics.

In 2004, Kydland shared the Nobel Memorial Price in Economics with Professor Edward C. Prescott. They were given this award “for their contributions to dynamic macroeconomics: the time consistency of economic policy and the driving forces behind business cycles". (The Nobel e-Museum) 

Kydland’s areas of expertise are economics in general and political economy. His main areas of teaching and interest are business cycles, monetary and fiscal policy and labor economics. A highly influential component of Kydland's research focuses on the time-consistency problem in monetary policy: policymakers may wish to restrain inflation in the long run by raising interest rates, but political constraints make them reluctant to bear the short-term costs of doing so. Kydland and Prescott's work in this area has led to a move towards greater independence of the monetary authorities from the political process in a number of countries.

Kydland is also an Adjunct Professor at the Norwegian School of Economics and NHH. Since 1992 he has been a Fellow of the Econometric Society.

Participated in these projects

Copenhagen Consensus for Latin America

Copenhagen Consensus for Latin America

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copenhagen consensus II

Copenhagen Consensus II

The second Copenhagen Consensus took place 25-30 May in Copenhagen. Once again, our Expert Panel tackled the question, Imagine you had $75 billion to donate to worthwhile causes. What would you do, and where should ...

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fix the climate

Copenhagen Consensus on Climate

Global warming is real; it is caused by man-made CO2 emissions, and we need to do something about it. But we don't need action that makes us feel good. We need action that actually does good.

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Smarter Solutions Bangladesh

Bangladesh Priorities

What should be the top priorities for policy makers, international donors, NGOs and businesses? With limited resources and time, it is crucial that focus is informed by what will do the most good for each taka spent...

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Post 2015 Consensus Logo

Post-2015 Consensus

In 2015, the UN's Millennium Development Goals are expiring and the international community will set new goals. The Post-2015 Consensus brings together the world’s top economists, NGOs, international agencies and bu...

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Guide to Giving

Even the wealthiest government, business, or individual has limited resources. A dollar spent in one place cannot be spent elsewhere. We are often asked by individuals: how can I make personal donations in line with...

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Copenhagen Consensus III

In 2004 and 2008, the Copenhagen Consensus Center held two major projects that helped to shape overseas development spending and philanthropic decisions for years to come. The third Copenhagen Consensus was the late...

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