Born in Broni, Italy, Alesina obtained his undergraduate degree in economics from Bocconi University (DES) in 1981, then continued his studies at Harvard University, receiving an M.A. (1985) and a Ph.D. (1986). From 2003—2006, Alesina served as Chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard. He is currently the Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy at Harvard. He has visited several institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tel Aviv University, University of Stockholm, The World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In 2006, Alesina participated in the Stock Exchange of Visions project.

He has published five books and edited many more. His two most recent books are The Future of Europe: Reform or Decline (2006, MIT Press), and Fighting Poverty in the US and Europe: A World of Difference (2004, Oxford). He has been a co-editor of the Quarterly Journal of Economics for eight years and associate editor of many academic journals. He has published columns in many leading newspapers around the world. He is founding contributor of the online economic policy and research journal Voxeu.org and of Lavoce.info.

Alesina's work has covered a variety of topics, including:

• Political business cycles
• The political economy of fiscal policy and budget deficits
• The process of European integration
• Stabilization policies in high inflation countries
• The determination of the size of countries
• Currency unions
• The political economic determinants of redistributive policies
• Differences in the welfare state in the US and Europe
• Differences in the economic system in the US and Europe
• The effect of alternative electoral systems on economic policies
• The determination of the choice of different electoral systems

Alesina is a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research (Cambridge, Massachusetts), the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London, the Econometric Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Books

• 1995. Partisan Politics, Divided Government and the Economy (with Howard Rosenthal). Cambridge. Description & TOC and preview.
• 1997a. Political Cycles and the Macroeconomy (with Nouriel Roubini & G. Cohen). MIT Press. Description and chapter-preview links.
• 1997b. Designing Macroeconomic Policy for Europe (with Olivier Blanchard et al.), CEPR, London.
• 2003. The Size of Nations (with Enrico Spolaore). MIT Press. Description and chapter-preview links.
• 2004. Fighting Poverty in the US and Europe: A World of Difference (with Edward Glaeser). Oxford.
• 2006. The Future of Europe: Reform or Decline (with Francesco Giavazzi). MIT Press.

Articles

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• 1987. "Macroeconomic Policy in a Two-Party System as a Repeated Game," Quarterly Journal of Economics, 102(3), p p. 651-678.
• 1991. "Why Are Stabilizations Delayed?" (with Allan Drazen), American Economic Review, 81(5) , pp. 1170-1188.
• 1993. "Central Bank Independence and Macroeconomic Performance: Some Comparative Evidence" (with Lawrence H. Summers), Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 25(2), p p. 151-162.
• 1994. "Distributive Politics and Economic Growth" (with Dani Rodrik), Quarterly Journal of Economics, 109(2), p p. 465-490.
• 1995. "The Political Economy of Budget Deficits" (with Roberto Perotti), IMF Staff Papers, 42(1), pp. p. 1-31.
• 1996a. "Political Instability and Economic Growth" (with Sule Özler et al.), Journal of Economic Growth, 1(2), p p. 189-211.
• 1996b. "Income Distribution, Political Instability, and Investment," (with Roberto Perotti), European Economic Review, 40(6), pp. 1203—1228. Abstract.
• 1997. "On the Number and Size of Nations" (with Enrico Spolaore), Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(4), p p. 1027-1056.
• 1999. "Public Goods and Ethnic Divisions" (with Reza Baqir & William Easterly), Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114(4), pp. 1243-1284.
• 2000a. "Who Gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why?" (with David Dollar), Journal of Economic Growth, 5(1), p p. 33-63.
• 2000b. "Participation in Heterogeneous Communities" (with Eliana La Ferrara), Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115(3), p p. 847-904.
• 2002a. "Who Trusts Others?" Journal of Public Economics, 85(2), pp. 207-234 (close Pages tab).
• 2002b. "Fiscal Policy, Profits, and Investment" (with Silvia Ardagna et al.), American Economic Review, 92(3), pp. 571-589.
• 2003. "Fractionalization" (with Arnaud Devleeschauwer et al.), Journal of Economic Growth, 8(2), p p. 155-194.
• 2004. "Inequality and Happiness: Are Europeans and Americans Different?" (with Rafael Di Tellab and Robert MacCulloch), Journal of Public Economics, 88(9-10), pp. 2009-2042 (close Bookmarks tab).
• 2005a. "International Unions" (with Ignazio Angeloni and Federico Etro), American Economic Review, 95(3), p p. 602-615.
• 2005b. "Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance" (with Eliana La Ferrara), Journal of Economic Literature, 43(3), pp. 762-800.
• 2007:3. "Program Report: Political Economy," NBER Reporter OnLine.
• 2010. "Large Changes in Fiscal Policy: Taxes versus Spending" (with Silvia Ardagna), in J. R. Brown, ed., Tax Policy and the Economy, v. 24, ch. 2, pp. 35-68. NBER. Abstract.