Economists provide insights relevant to macroeconomics in A2 Economics papers. Daron Acemoglu's work on institutional failures and extractive elites highlights barriers to development and inequality. Esther Duflo's randomized controlled trials increase aid effectiveness at a micro level. Robert Frank's research shows that high inequality can damage economic growth through inefficient status consumption.

1. A-Z of Economists Useful for Impressing in your A2 Economics Papers
Economist Key Topic Area Key Insights Relevant to your A2 Macro
Acemoglu (Daron) Institutions
Institutional failures are a key barrier to development, extractive elites can take
most of the resource rents causing high inequality
Becker (Gary) Human capital
Getting the right incentives to provide and fund improved human capitalis key to
raising productivity and driving innovation
Collier (Paul)
Development traps,
aid et al
Has written extensively on “development traps” and the policies best suited for
nations to avoid the naturalresource curse
Duflo(Esther) Behavioural
Randomized controlled trials can help increase the effectiveness of aid projects
introduced at a micro level in poor communities
Easterlin (Richard) Living Standards
The Easterlin paradox is that in many countries, incomes rising above a certain
threshold bring no significant gain in happiness
Frank (Robert)
Inequality and
economic growth
High inequality can damage growth – e.g. status races to consume “positional
goods” is an inefficient use of scarce resources
Glaeser (Ed)
Agglomeration
economies
His work focuses on factors that drive the long run expansion and success of cities
– urbanization as a driver of development
Hidalgo (Cesar)
Information and
network economics
Countries grow rich by increasing computational capacity and building networks
of individuals to create newproducts
Kuznets (Simon) Standard of living
Kuznets Curve – illustrates how higher income inequality and environmental
damage might be reversed as nations grow
Lewis (Arthur) Lewis Turning Point
Developing countries may see surplus labour flowing from ruralto urban areas
diminish – lead to rising wages and unit costs
Mundell(Robert) Currency unions
Devised conditions under which an optimal currency area might be created –
focusing on the need for real economic convergence
Nash (John Forbes) Game Theory
Developed understanding of strategies in games – applied at macro for example in
understanding trade/protectionist disputes
Ostrom (Elinor) Social capital
Addressed how communities could create rules of social behaviour to overcome
the tragedy of the commons
Prebisch (Raul) Commodity prices
Believed that commodity exporters would eventually see a decline in their real
terms of trade and argued for rapid industrialisation
Quah (Danny) Globalisation
Plots the changing centre of gravity in the world economy – the gradualshift of
economic and political power to the south east
Ricardo (David) Internationaltrade
Created the basic theory of comparative advantage still the bedrock of standard
trade economics
Solow (Robert) Economic growth
Created the Solow neo-classical growth modelwhich links capital investment &
productivity growth to a nation’s sustainable growth rate
Tirole (Jean) Concentrated markets
Built understanding of the dynamics of monopolistic and oligopolistic markets
arguing for a case by case approach when regulating them
Van Reenen (John)
Management and
Human Capital
Has made extensive studies of the role that variations in the quality of business
management can have on competitiveness and growth
Williamson (Oliver)
Behavioural theories
of the firm
Helped to build theories of management-run businesses whose objectives may
differ from owners
Yunus (Mohammad) Poverty and growth
Founding Father of the Grameen Bank and the idea of micro finance – now
focusing on the roles that social entrepreneurship can play