Avinash Dixit

Avinash Dixit is the John J. F. Sherrerd '52 University Professor of Economics Emeritus at Princeton University in the Department of Economics. A leading figure in Business & Economics, he was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) and earned a B.Sc. in mathematics and physics from St. Xavier’s College (Bombay), a B.A. in mathematics from Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dixit joined Princeton in January 1981 following positions as assistant professor at the University of California–Berkeley, fellow of Balliol College at the University of Oxford, and professor at the University of Warwick. He served for a decade as a joint appointee in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Now retired from teaching, he has made his teaching materials freely available. His career features seminal contributions across microeconomics, game theory, public economics, urban economics, international trade, industrial organization, macroeconomics, international macroeconomics, economic growth and development, and the law and institutions of economic governance. He learned applied theory from Nobel laureate Robert Solow at MIT.

Dixit has authored ten professional best-sellers, including The Theory of International Trade, Optimization in Economic Theory, Theory of Equilibrium Growth, Lawlessness and Economics, The Making of Economic Policy, and Art of Strategy. Key publications feature the highly cited 'Monopolistic Competition and Optimum Product Diversity' (1977, with Joseph Stiglitz, over 15,000 citations), foundational to international trade and macroeconomic theory; Investment under Uncertainty (1994, with Robert Pindyck, over 23,000 citations), applying option theory to capital investment; and Theory of International Trade: A Dual, General Equilibrium Approach (1980, with Victor Norman). His prose is noted for clarity, wit, and breadth of knowledge. Dixit excelled in teaching microeconomic theory, games of strategy, economics of uncertainty, international trade theory, and mathematics for economists at Princeton. He held administrative roles such as director of graduate studies and chaired committees. Professionally, he served as president of the Econometric Society and American Economic Association, and is a fellow of the Econometric Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, corresponding fellow of the British Academy, and member of the American Philosophical Society.

Professional Email: dixitak@princeton.edu