Gerald D. Cohen
Research Professor of Finance and Chief Economist of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise
Contact
Kenan Center 314 CB 3440 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3440
(919) 843-0481
Gerald Cohen’s research is focused on understanding the drivers of national and regional economic conditions – productivity, in particular – and how to help decision makers use that information to foster growth.
He teaches courses on how to develop data-driven policy decisions.
Dr. Cohen is chief economist of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise where he provides strategic vision and leadership of its translational economic research and policy initiatives. He is the lead researcher for the American Growth Project, which examines the indicators driving the well-being of the U.S.’s micro-economies.
He has worked in both the public and private sectors focusing on the intersection between financial markets and economic fundamentals.
During President Barack Obama’s administration, he was deputy assistant secretary for macroeconomic analysis at the U.S. Department of Treasury where he helped formulate and evaluate the impact of policy proposals on the U.S. economy.
He previously managed a global macro fund at Ziff Brothers Investments.
Dr. Cohen is a contributing author to “30-Second Money” and co-author of “Political Cycles and the Macroeconomy.”
He received his PhD in economics from Harvard University and his BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.