Paul Romer

Paul Romer is an American economist, professor, entrepreneur and activist, recipient of the 2018 Alfred Nobel Memorial Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences. He is globally recognized as the pioneer and prime mover of Endogenous Growth Theory, a framework that revolutionized macroeconomic analysis by integrating technological innovation and knowledge as organic drivers of long-term economic growth.

Romer received a solid academic education at elite universities, graduating with a degree in Mathematics and a PhD in Economics from the University of Chicago in 1983, after graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His doctoral work laid the foundations of his theory, which postulates that productivity growth is not only due to external (exogenous) factors as previously believed, but to variables internal to the economic system (endogenous), such as investment in human capital, research and innovation.

His professional career was not limited to academia, where he taught at prestigious institutions such as Stanford, Berkeley and Chicago. He also ventured into the business world by founding Aplia in 2001, a company dedicated to the development of online homework and problems for university students, which was acquired in 2007. Subsequently, he held a position of great international relevance as Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank between 2016 and 2018.

Paul Romer's contribution has had a fundamental impact on the design of public policies, demonstrating how economic forces can drive the generation of new ideas and sustained prosperity. In addition to his theoretical work, Romer has stood out for his critique of conventional macroeconomics and for his activism, proposing alternative models of territorial development such as "charter cities". His recognition with the Nobel Prize confirmed the significance of his work in the integration of ideas and technological innovation in modern economic science.