Luigi Zingales (; born 8 February 1963 in

Padua, Italy Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and '' comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of ...

) is a finance professor at the

University of Chicago Booth School of Business The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago Booth or Booth) is the graduate business school of the University of Chicago. Founded in 1898, Chicago Booth is the second-oldest business school in the U.S. and is associated with 10 N ...

and the author of two widely-reviewed books. His book '' Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists'' (2003) is a study of "relationship capitalism". In '' A Capitalism for the People: Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity'' (2012), Zingales "suggests that channeling populist anger can reinvigorate the power of competition and reverse the movement toward a ' crony system'."

Career

Zingales received a bachelor's degree in economics from

Bocconi University Bocconi University ( it, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, ) is a private university in Milan, Italy. Bocconi provides education in the fields of economics, finance, law, management, political science, public administration and comput ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

. In 1992 he earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

with the completion of his thesis, titled ''The value of corporate control'', under the supervision of James M. Poterba and Oliver Hart. In the same year he joined the faculty of the

, where he is the Robert C. McCormack Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance. Zingales also serves as a member of the

Committee on Capital Markets Regulation The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research organization financed by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Background Thirty-six leaders from the financial sector, incl ...

Positions

Zingales has been featured prominently in news media, which falls in line with his belief that economists should take a more public stance regarding what they believe in. While a traditional economist in many respects, he is known for some of his unique opinions. He has advocated replacing all taxes with a single

consumption tax A consumption tax is a tax levied on consumption spending on goods and services. The tax base of such a tax is the money spent on consumption. Consumption taxes are usually indirect, such as a sales tax or a value-added tax. However, a consumpti ...

, a position usually associated with political conservatives. On the other hand, he has voiced support for greater regulation of the banking industry. Perhaps most interesting is his support of the

United States debt ceiling The United States debt ceiling or debt limit is a legislative limit on the amount of national debt that can be incurred by the U.S. Treasury, thus limiting how much money the federal government may pay on the debt they already borrowed. The d ...

, which is almost universally held in low regard by his colleagues. In July 2012, Zingales took part in the 'No-Brainer Economic Platform' project of

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's program ''

Planet Money ''Planet Money'' is an American podcast and blog produced by NPR. Using "creative and entertaining" dialogue and narrative, ''Planet Money'' claims to be "The Economy Explained." History The podcast was created by Alex Blumberg and Adam David ...

''. He supported a six-part reform plan that involved eliminating all American

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. Fo ...

corporate A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

, and

payroll taxes Payroll taxes are taxes imposed on employers or employees, and are usually calculated as a percentage of the salaries that employers pay their employees. By law, some payroll taxes are the responsibility of the employee and others fall on the em ...

as well as the

war on drugs The war on drugs is a global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States.Cockburn and St. Clair, 1 ...

and replacing the system with a broad

(including taxing formerly illegal substances). Zingales generated controversy in 2018 when he invited former

White House Chief Strategist Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist in the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump during the ...

Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist in the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump during t ...

to debate

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

and

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

against an undecided expert in the field. The decision sparked protests from students and faculty given Bannon's history of controversial statements.

Studies

His main field of study is business economics, with a heavy focus on organizations and entrepreneurship.

Awards

He was the winner of the 2003

Germán Bernácer Prize The Bernacer Prize is awarded annually to European young economists who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of macroeconomics and finance. The prize is named after Germán Bernácer, an early Spanish macroeconomist. The prize was c ...

to the best European economist under 40 working in macro-finance. In 2012, he was named by ''

Foreign Policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

'' magazine to its list of FP Top 100 Global Thinkers, "For reminding us what conservative economics used to look like."

Books

*'' Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists'', Random House, New York, 2003; Co-authored with Raghuram G. Rajan *''

A Capitalism for the People '' A Capitalism for the People: Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity '' is a non-fiction book by the Italian writer and economist Luigi Zingales, who is known for serving as a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at the Univers ...

: Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity'', Basic Books, New York, 2012

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zingales, Liuigi Living people Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni Bocconi University alumni University of Chicago Booth School of Business faculty Italian economists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1963 births Manhattan Institute for Policy Research Writers from Padua Italian emigrants to the United States Presidents of the American Finance Association