Thorvaldur Gylfason is Professor of Economics at the University of Iceland. He is also Research Fellow at CESifo (Center for Economic Studies) at the University of Munich, Research Associate at the Center for U.S.-Japan Business and Economic Studies at New York University, and Fellow of the European Economic Association. He has published over 150 papers in international journals and books and over 40 scholarly articles in his native Icelandic. In addition, he has written 20 books, including eight collections of essays in Icelandic, and about 800 articles in newspapers and magazines. He has also composed songs for mixed choir, voice, piano, and other instruments.

Renowned Economist. After obtaining his doctorate in economics at Princeton University, he worked as an economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington from 1976 to 1981. He was Visiting Professor of Public and International Affairs at Princeton, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for International Economic Studies at Stockholm University from 1978 to 1996, and  once led SNS Economic Policy Group in Sweden. He also was a Research Fellow at Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London from 1987 to 2009.

In recent years, he has been a frequent consultant to the International Monetary Fund and also the World Bank, the European Commission, and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). His current research is mostly in the field of economic reforms, constitutions, natural resources, trade, and growth.

Accomplished Writer. He is one of three authors of Understanding the Market Economy, which has appeared in seventeen languages. He is one of five authors of Nordics in Global Crisis, and one of three editors of Beyond the Curse: Policies to Harness the Power of Natural Resources. He has contributed regularly to Icelandic newspapers since 1985, publishing a weekly column since 2003, in addition to various writings for other Icelandic and foreign papers. He was editor of the European Economic Review 2002-2010 and is associate editor of several other economics journals. 

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