Costas Azariadis, Ph.D., professor of economics in Arts & Sciences, has been named an Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor, Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton announced.
A formal installation ceremony was held Feb. 1 in Holmes Lounge.
The Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professorships honor Edward Mallinckrodt and his son, Edward Mallinckrodt Jr.
“Both father and son were successful chemists, prominent businessmen and generous philanthropists supporting higher education,” Wrighton said. “The Mallinckrodt family’s philanthropic interest in Washington University has spanned many decades, and both men have given considerable time, talent and gifts to help make our institution as great as it is today.” Wrighton also noted that both men served on the University’s Board of Trustees.
The Mallinckrodt family’s generosity extends throughout the University. In addition to numerous endowments made to the School of Medicine, their extraordinary support is evident in the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and the Edward Mallinckrodt Department of Pediatrics. On the Danforth Campus, Mallinckrodt Student Center is a popular gathering place for students and houses the Campus Store, Edison Theatre, and the Performing Arts Department and Film and Media Studies program, both in Arts & Sciences.
Numerous buildings and professorships at the University and at Harvard University pay tribute to the Mallinckrodt legacy. Azariadis joins William F. Tate, Ph.D., professor and chair of education in Arts & Sciences, and Murray L. Weidenbaum, Ph.D., professor of economics and namesake of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy, both in Arts & Sciences, with the title.
“Costas Azariadis’ distinguished scholarship and expertise in macroeconomics have already contributed significantly to our Department of Economics,” said Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor, dean of Arts & Sciences and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences. “His enthusiasm and collegiality are great additions to Arts & Sciences.”
Azariadis works on multiple equilibria and stabilization policy, the dynamics of economic development and the role of imperfect financial markets in dynamic general equilibrium. He is the inaugural director of the Center for Dynamic Economics in Arts & Sciences.
His research attempts to devise a unified framework for macroeconomics that describes the core behavioral relations of that field as a simple stochastic dynamical system. His teaching repertoire includes courses in monetary economics, macroeconomics and asset pricing.
During the last 30 years, Azariadis has published widely in the leading peer-reviewed professional journals, including the American Economic Review, The Quarterly Journal of Economics and The Review of Economic Studies. In addition, he has published 40 journal articles and 14 book chapters. He authored a widely used graduate-level textbook, “Intertemporal Macroeconomics.”
He has lectured in nearly 100 universities nationwide and given many keynote addresses in international conferences. He also has received 10 research grants from domestic and international sources. Azariadis is a fellow of The Econometric Society and has served as an editor of The Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Economic Growth and Macroeconomic Dynamics.
After earning a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the National Technical University in Athens, Greece, Azariadis did graduate work at Carnegie Mellon University, earning a master of business administration with distinction and a doctorate in economics. His academic career began as assistant professor at Brown University and continued at the University of Pennsylvania, where he spent 15 years.
Prior to joining WUSTL, he served as distinguished professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he spent 14 years.
Secondary appointments include visits at Princeton University, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Autonomous University of Barcelona, the Getulio Vargas Foundation, the University of Vienna and L’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales.