French Economist Gabriel Zucman Receives John Bates Clark Medal for Work on Tax Evasion and Inequality

The American Economics Association (AEA) announced on Tuesday May 2 that it had awarded French economist Gabriel Zucman the John Bates Clark Medal for his work on tax evasion and rising inequality. This award is considered one of the most prestigious awards given to researchers in economics.

>> “The real tax rate of the ultra-rich in France is only 2%”, denounces the professor of economics Gabriel Zucman

“Research by (Gabriel) Zucman provides some of the best evidence regarding the importance of tax evasion, forcing economists to recognize that the phenomenon is larger than originally thought”explained in particular the AEA in a press release.

Work to measure inequalities in wealth

His work has made it possible to “quantify the importance of tax evasion and measure the increase in the highest incomes as well as wealth inequalities”added the association, which points out that its price “Gabriel Zucman award in recognition of these impressive achievements”. “Thank you to the AEA for this incredible honor”responded Gabriel Zucman, 36, on Twitter. “I am infinitely grateful to the many co-authors, mentors, colleagues and students who taught me so much and made this research possible”.

The French economist joins a prestigious list of award-winning colleagues, such as Joseph Stiglitz or Paul Krugman, but also, and more recently, the French Emmanuel Saez then Esther Duflo, who received the John Bates Clark Medal in 2009 and 2010 respectively. of its recipients have also been awarded a Bank of Sweden Prize in Economics, dubbed the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Doctor in economics, Gabriel Zucman conducted all of his studies in France, at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, the Paris School of Economics and then at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Siences Sociales (EHESS). His thesis focused on the distribution of fortunes in the world and was carried out under the supervision of Thomas Piketty. He joined the London School of Economics as a teacher and then, since 2019, the American University of Berkeley, California. He has also advised Bernie Sanderscandidate for the Democratic nomination in 2020.