Rachel Kranton
Dean of the Social Sciences

Rachel Kranton is the James B. Duke Professor of Economics. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.

In her research, Kranton studies how institutions and the social setting affect economic outcomes. She develops theories of networks and has introduced identity into economic thinking. Her research contributes to many fields including microeconomics, economic development, and industrial organization. In Identity Economics, Rachel Kranton and collaborator George Akerlof, introduce a general framework to study social norms and identity in economics. In the economics of networks, Rachel Kranton develops formal models of strategic interaction in different economic settings. Her work draws on empirical findings and integrates new mathematical tools to uncover how network structures influence economic outcomes. Rachel Kranton has a long-standing interest in development economics and institutions. She focuses on the costs and benefits of networks and informal exchange, which is economic activity mediated by social relationships rather than markets.

Kranton is a fellow of the Econometric Society and was awarded a Chaire Blaise Pascal, a France-based award that recognizes internationally acclaimed foreign scientists in all disciplines. She has served on the executive committee of the American Economic Association and on the editorial boards of the American Economic Review and the Journal of Economic Literature. 

Kranton is a managing editor of The Economic Journal and has collaboratively launched a research network, Economic Research on Identity, Norms, and Narratives (ERINN). She has held fellowships at the Russell Sage Foundation in New York and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. 

Email: socscidean@duke.edu
Phone: (919) 668-2746
Fax: (919) 668-2729

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Duke University
102 Allen Building
Box 90029
Durham North Carolina 27708-0029