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Prof. Hans-Joachim Voth
Hans-Joachim Voth has been a Professor at the
University of Zurich and an Affiliated Professor at
the UBS Center since 2014. On November 1, 2015,
he was appointed to the Professorship in Macro-
economics and Financial Markets, endowed by the
UBS Center.
Previously, Voth was a Professor at Pompeu Fabra
University, Barcelona, and was a Visiting Professor
at Princeton University, New York University,
Stanford University, and the Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology.
His research focuses on sovereign debt in historical
perspective, asset market volatility, the origins and
persistence of culture over the long run, political
risks, and economic performance. His academic
articles are published regularly in the top academic
journals, and his books have been published by
Oxford University Press and Princeton University
Press. Prof. Voth is also a managing editor of
The
Economic Journal
and an associate editor at
The
Quarterly Journal of Economics
.
Voth’s research as well as his opinion pieces fea-
ture regularly in the media, including
The Econo-
mist
,
Financial Times
,
The New York Times
,
The
Wall Street Journal
,
NZZ
, or
Finanz und
Wirtschaft
.
Prof. Voth’s inaugural lecture on "Fear, Folly, and
Financial Crises – Some Policy Lessons from
History" will take place at the University of Zurich
on March 7, 2016, 5 pm.
gers, but also keeps an eye on potential benefits. He
lists three such potential benefits: First, temporary
increases in sovereign debt are often less painful
than brutal reductions in government spending or
excessive tax increases, and these increases may
guarantee more continuity for enterprises. Second,
government securities can play an important role
in the willingness to accept risk on the part of
enterprises and investors, as holding secure bonds
allow them to take on higher risk in other positions.
Third, the example above has shown that, in the
presence of underdeveloped or badly functioning
financial markets, it may be preferable for people to
invest in government bonds if the available alterna-
tive asset classes have (more) detrimental effects on
the economy.
References
Gennaioli Nicola, Voth Hans-Joachim, "State Ca-
pacity and Military Conflict," Review of Economic
Studies (2015) 83, 1–47.
Ventura Jaume, Voth Hans-Joachim, "Debt into
Growth: How sovereign debt accelerated the first
industrial revolution," University of Zurich, Depart-
ment of Economics, Working Paper Series, Work-
ing Paper No. 194, ISSN 1664–7041 (print), ISSN
1664–705X (online).