Penn Economics professor Enrique Mendoza was named the inaugural William P. Carey Professor of Economics on Nov. 20 following a $3 million donation to the School of Arts and Sciences.
The W.P. Carey Foundation made the donation to create a faculty role that can support work connecting the fields of economics and political science. Mendoza, whose research interests focus on international capital flows, financial crises, sovereign debt, and business cycles, will take on the position to integrate ideas across disciplines.
In the School of Arts and Sciences’ announcement, SAS Dean Mark Trodden cited Carey’s belief that the economics and political science fields “stimulated and enhanced the other” as motivation to add the endowed chair.
“Enrique Mendoza exemplifies this connection, applying his expertise to public service and public service to his research,” Trodden wrote.
William Polk Carey, the foundation’s founder, was “deeply passionate” about collaboration between these fields, 2019 Wharton graduate William P. Carey II added in the announcement.
Carey, who serves on Penn’s Board of Trustees and chairs the W.P. Carey Foundation, added that William Polk Carey believed “politicians should be better informed about economic principles, and that economists must better understand the political realities that shape policy.”
Mendoza joined the Penn community in 2013 and previously served as a Presidential Term Professor and Director of the Penn Institute for Economic Research. Before coming to Penn, he held academic appointments at the University of Maryland and Duke University.
Mendoza has served on the staff of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the International Monetary Fund, on the National Science Foundation Economics panel, on editorial boards of several academic journals, and as managing editor of the Journal of International Economics.
Mendoza is a fellow of the Econometric Society, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a member of advisory groups, including the Bank for International Settlements Advisory Panel and the Latin American Committee on Macroeconomic and Financial Issues.
The foundation has previously supported several Penn initiatives in economics, law, and business. Its past contributions include endowing the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, helping establish the three-year Francis J. and William Polk Carey JD/MBA program, co-founding the Penn Institute for Economic Research, endowing the William Polk Carey Prize in Economics, and supporting term chairs in mathematics and economics.