#TimetoMeet: Andrea Prat

11 Jul 2024

3 min read

In our #TimetoMeet series we introduce members of the Gerzensee community and talk to them about their relationship with time. In this interview, it’s time to meet Andrea Prat, Professor of Economics at Columbia University and chair of the organizing committee of the European Summer Symposium in Economic Theory.

In your opinion, what is the most important challenge of our time?

Humanity faces many crises: climate change, armed conflicts, financial instability, pandemics, and more. I think there exist tools to tackle those crises, but the real challenge is to create global institutions that can develop those tools.

Time is money, so as an economist what would you like to invest more time in?

It’s an issue I am very interested in. I have done some research on time use in organizations (Bandiera et al, CEO Behavior and Firm Performance, Journal of Political Economy, 2020). We collected the time use of over 1100 CEOs of medium/large firms and studied how it affects the performance of the firms they run. Successful CEOs are those who devote most of their time to activities that generate alignment and coordination within the firm. They are the true leaders.

And which activity do you find the biggest waste of time?

The same research reveals that the worst CEOs are the micromanagers. They focus on the trees but miss the forest. Their firms end up underperforming.

If you had a free ride on a time machine, what year would you travel to?

2092. I am incredibly curious about the future. Plus, I would love to attend the 100^th edition of ESSET!

Which is your favorite time of the year, and why?

Definitely summer. I love swimming in open bodies of water, especially Gerzensee.

About our Interviewee:

Andrea Prat is the Richard Paul Richman Professor of Business at Columbia Business School and Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics, Columbia University. Professor Prat's work focuses on organizational economics and political economy. His research in organizational economics explores issues such as organizational design, corporate leadership, employee motivation, and optimal disclosure. His research in political economy examines the influence of the media industry on the democratic process. He is the author of numerous articles in leading journals including the American Economic Review, Econometrica, the Journal of Political Economy, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Finance, and the Review of Economic Studies.

Andrea Prat chairs the organizing committee of the CEPR European Summer Symposium in Economic Theory (ESSET) which takes place each July in Gerzensee. For more than 30 years now, ESSET has brought together leading economists to discuss the frontier of research in economic theory. In Gerzensee.