Founding

In April 2011, Mitch Julis, a Princeton alum and current partner of Canyon Capital Advisors, a Los Angeles–based hedge fund, made a gift of $10 million to the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. His funds were used to create a center that sought to analyze and improve the nation's financial and public policies.^[2][3] Named for Julis’ parents, the Julis-Rabinowitz Center began its operations in the 2011–2012 academic year, and has since maintained close relations with the School of Public and International Affairs, the Bendheim Center for Finance, and the Princeton University Department of Economics. Christina Paxson, former dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and current president of Brown University helped to establish the organization which aimed to increase opportunities for research and teaching.^[4] The center was originally located at Princeton's Frick Chemistry Laboratory. In 2017, the JRC moved to its permanent location at the Julis Romo Rabinowitz Building.^[5][6]

Organizational structure

The current director of the JRC is the John H. Laporte, Jr. Class of 1967 Professor of Economics, Public Policy and Finance Atif R. Mian. Professor Mian holds a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Much of his research focuses on finance and macroeconomy, analyzing housing trends, mortgage data, and the 2008 financial crisis. His research has been cited in The New York Times, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Economist.^[7]

The JRC is also supported by an External Advisory Council, which includes Robert A. Johnson at the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), Philip Bennett at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Joyce Chang at JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Scholars

Its scholars include a wide array of economists, political scientists, historians, and industry experts. Professors associated with the JRC have won a number of prestigious and international awards, including the Clark Medal (Yuliy Sannikov, 2016), the Moynihan Prize (Alan Krueger, 2016), and the Bipartisan Health Policy Leadership Award from the National Alliance of Health Policy (Uwe Reinhardt, 2017).^[14][15][16] The center also is home to Alan Krueger, the former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy; Alan Blinder, a former member of the Council of Economic Advisers and Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve System; Markus Brunnermeier, Research Fellow at the Bank for International Settlements; Harold James, the current Historian at the International Monetary Fund; and Cecilia Rouse, a former member of the Council of Economic Advisers and current Dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.^[17][18] The JRC is also home to a number of External Advisory Council members who work in government, industry, and academia.^[19]

Projects

Partnerships

The JRC currently leads a partnership with the African School of Economics (ASE). Since 2016, the JRC and the ASE have engaged in collaborative research and numerous training initiatives, as well as a new visiting scholar program.^[26]

Annual Conference

The JRC's annual conference is co-hosted with Microsoft Research in New York City. It aims to bring together researchers, policy experts, and market practitioners to discuss some of the most pressing economic issues in the current world. Past topics including "Escalating Risks: China's Economy, Society and Financial System" and "The Future of Globalization: Trade, Finance and Politics." Some past keynote speakers include Lawrence H. Summers of Harvard University; Robert Hall of Stanford University; Paul Krugman of Princeton University; and Benoît Cœuré of the European Central Bank.^[27]