Jeffrey Sachs

Jeffrey Sachs is a University Professor at Columbia University, affiliated with the Department of Economics in the Business & Economics faculty. He received his B.A. (summa cum laude), M.A., and Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in 1976, 1978, and 1980, respectively. Sachs spent over two decades at Harvard University, serving as Assistant Professor from 1980 to 1982, Associate Professor from 1982 to 1983, and Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade from 1984 to 2002. In 2002, he joined Columbia as Director of the Earth Institute and Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, positions he held until 2016. Currently, he directs the Center for Sustainable Development and holds the rank of University Professor. His career includes advisory roles to governments worldwide and prominent positions at the United Nations, such as Special Advisor to Secretaries-General Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon, and António Guterres on Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and SDG Advocate.

Sachs' research specializations include sustainable development, escape from extreme poverty, climate change mitigation, global health challenges like AIDS and malaria, economic transitions, and international macroeconomics. He has authored influential books including The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), The Price of Civilization (2011), The Age of Sustainable Development (2015), Building the New American Economy (2017), A New Foreign Policy (2018), and The Ages of Globalization (2020). Key papers feature "Six Transformations to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals" (2019). Among his honors are the co-recipient Blue Planet Prize (2015), Padma Bhushan (2007), 32 honorary doctorates, and listings by Time magazine among the 100 most influential world leaders. Described by The New York Times as “probably the most important economist in the world” and ranked by The Economist among the three most influential living economists, Sachs has profoundly shaped global policy on sustainable development.

Professional Email: sachs@columbia.edu