About

Elhanan Helpman is the Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade at Harvard University. He holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Statistics from Tel Aviv University, an M.A. degree in Economics from the same institution, and a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Harvard University. Helpman's contributions include studies of the balance of payments, exchange rate regimes, stabilization programs, and foreign debt. Most important, however, are his studies of international trade, economic growth, and political economy. He is a cofounder of the "new trade theory" and the "new growth theory," which emphasize the roles of economies of scale and imperfect competition. Much of his work in trade, growth, and political economy is summarized in eight books, including collaborations with Paul Krugman and Gene Grossman. Helpman has also studied the Israeli economy and has been an active participant in Israeli policy debates, serving on various advisory boards and councils. He has served as Co-Editor of the Journal of International Economics and as Editor of the European Economic Review and the Quarterly Journal of Economics. Helpman is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a member of its Council, and has delivered major invited lectures at prominent institutions. He is a member of several prestigious academies, including the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the British Academy, and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He has held leadership roles such as President of the Israeli Economic Association, President of the Econometric Society, and currently serves as President of the International Economic Association. Helpman has received numerous honors and awards, including honorary doctorates, medals, and prizes such as the Israel Prize and the Nemmers Prize. His research focuses on international trade, economic growth, and political economy, emphasizing the roles of economies of scale, imperfect competition, and policy analysis.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Social Science
• Law
• Sociology
• Economics
• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Political economy
• International economics
• Market economy
• Public economics
• International trade
• Positive economics

Selected publications

• Optimal Tariffs with Geopolitical Alignment

  National Bureau of Economic Research · 2025-08-01 · 6 citations

  reportOpen accessSenior author

  As geopolitical tensions intensify, great powers often turn to trade policy to influence international alignment.We examine the optimal design of tariffs in a world where large countries care not only about economic welfare but also about the political allegiance of smaller states.We consider both a unipolar setting, where a single hegemon uses preferential trade agreements to attract partners, and a bipolar world, where two great powers compete for influence.In both scenarios, we derive optimal tariffs that balance terms-of-trade considerations with strategic incentives to encourage political alignment.We find that when geopolitical concerns are active, the optimal tariff exceeds the classic Mill-Bickerdike level.In a bipolar world, optimal tariffs reflect both economic and political rivalry, and may be strategic complements or substitutes.A calibration exercise using U.N. voting patterns, an estimate of the cost of buying votes in the U.N., and military spending suggests that geopolitical motives can significantly amplify protectionist pressures and that the emergence of a second great power can contribute to a retreat from globalization.

  PublisherDOI

• The Future of Foreign Trade

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Optimal Tariffs with Geopolitical Alignment

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Trade Liberalization, Wage Rigidity, and Labor Market Dynamics with Heterogeneous Firms

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• The Future of Foreign Trade

  National Bureau of Economic Research · 2025-08-01 · 2 citations

  reportOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Foreign trade has significantly contributed to global improvements in living standards, a reduction in global inequality since the mid-1990s, and the lifting of millions out of extreme poverty.These gains were supported by the rules-based international order established after World War II.However, these achievements are now under threat.Escalating trade wars risk not only causing significant economic harm to both the United States and low-income countries, but also exacerbating geopolitical tensions.

  PublisherDOI

• Optimal Resilience in Multitier Supply Chains

  The Quarterly Journal of Economics · 2024-08-10 · 15 citations

  article

  Abstract Forward-looking investments determine the resilience of firms’ supply chains. Such investments confer externalities on other firms in the production network. We compare the equilibrium and optimal allocations in a general equilibrium model with an arbitrary number of vertical production tiers. Our model features endogenous investments in protective capabilities, endogenous formation of supply links, and sequential bargaining over quantities and payments between firms in successive tiers. We derive policies that implement the first-best allocation, allowing for subsidies to input purchases, network formation, and investments in protective capabilities. The first-best policies depend only on production function parameters of the pertinent tier. When subsidies to transactions are infeasible, the second-best subsidies for resilience depend on production function parameters throughout the network, and subsidies are larger upstream than downstream whenever the bargaining weights of buyers are nonincreasing along the chain.

  PublisherDOI

• When Tariffs Disrupt Global Supply Chains

  American Economic Review · 2024-03-28 · 123 citations

  articleOpen access

  We study unanticipated tariffs in a setting with firm-to-firm supply relationships. Firms conduct costly searches and negotiate with potential suppliers that pass a reservation level of match productivity. Global supply chains form in anticipation of free trade. Then, the home government surprises with an input tariff. This can lead to renegotiation with initial suppliers or search for replacements. Calibrating the model’s parameters to match initial import shares and the estimated responses to the US tariffs imposed on China, we find an overall welfare loss of 0.12 percent of GDP, with substantial contributions from changes in input sourcing and search costs. (JEL D72, F13, F14, L14, O19, P33)

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Foreign Competition and Innovation1

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Foreign competition and innovation

  Journal of International Economics · 2024-10-17 · 2 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Resilience in Vertical Supply Chains

  National Bureau of Economic Research · 2023-09-01 · 14 citations

  reportOpen access

  Forward-looking investments determine the resilience of firms' supply chains. Such investments confer externalities on other firms in the production network. We compare the equilibrium and optimal allocations in a general equilibrium model with an arbitrary number of vertical production tiers. Our model features endogenous investments in resilience, endogenous formation of supply links, and sequential bargaining over quantities and payments between firms in successive tiers. We derive policies that implement the first-best allocation, allowing for subsidies to input purchases, network formation, and investments in resilience. The first-best policies depend only on production function parameters of the pertinent tier. When subsidies to transactions are infeasible, the second-best subsidies for resilience and network formation depend on production function parameters throughout the network, and subsidies are larger upstream than downstream whenever the bargaining weights of buyers are non-increasing along the chain.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Gene M. Grossman

  Princeton University

  402 shared

• Assaf Razin

  51 shared

• Pol Antràs

  Harvard University

  45 shared

• Philippe Aghion

  Collège de France

  29 shared

• Thomas Sampson

  29 shared

• Ezra Oberfield

  29 shared

• David T. Coe

  27 shared

• Marc J. Melitz

  Centre for Economic Policy Research

  27 shared

Education

• B.A., Economics

  Harvard University

  1973

• M.A., Economics

  Harvard University

  1975

• Ph.D., Economics

  Harvard University

  1978

Awards & honors

• Fellow of the Econometric Society
• Member of the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities
• Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and…
• Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy
• Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts