b. 1947
Hal Varian is an American economist and academic known for his foundational work in microeconomics, information economics, and the economics of the internet. He is Professor Emeritus at UC Berkeley and served as Chief Economist at Google from 2007 to 2023. His textbooks on microeconomic analysis are standard references in graduate economics programs worldwide.
Authored 'Intermediate Microeconomics' and 'Microeconomic Analysis', widely used graduate and undergraduate textbooks
Pioneered research on information goods, versioning, and pricing strategies for digital markets
Served as Chief Economist at Google, shaping economic thinking on ad auctions and platform markets
Contributed foundational work on equity and efficiency in public economics
Co-authored 'Information Rules' with Carl Shapiro, a landmark text on technology economics