Department of Economics

Gustavo Torrens’ research centers on Political Economy. He is not only interested in understanding how institutions influence economic outcomes, but also the determinants of institutions and institutional change. He does theory as well as applied work, including laboratory experiments. Gustavo’s research topics includes trade and migration policies, crime and conflict, and fiscal federalism. He has published in Journal of International Economics, Games and Economic Behavior, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Economic Theory and Public Choice. He received the 2016 Award of the National Academy of Sciences of Argentina for his research on political regimes and trade policy and the 2018 Prize of the Ministry of Economics of Portugal (Prémio “Concorrência nos Mercados” Gabinete de Estratégia e Estudos GEE) for his work on antitrust enforcement. Recently, his research has gathered substantial media attention, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Slate Magazine and Marginal Revolution. He has also published policy relevant posts on several blogs such as, Vox CEPR Policy Portal, Vox Lacea and Focoeconomico. Gustavo received his Ph.D. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis and he is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Indiana University and Ostrom Workshop affiliated faculty.