Professor Pierre-Louis Vezina
Professor of Economics
Research interests
- Economics
- International development
- Policy
Contact details
Biography
Pierre-Louis is a Professor of Economics affiliated with the Department of Political Economy.
Previously, he was a lecturer at the University of Birmingham and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. His research interests include using natural experiments and novel datasets to get a better grasp of policy issues in trade, development, and migration.
He holds a PhD in International Economics from the Graduate Institute in Geneva and has been a consultant for the World Bank. He is also Assistant Editor for the European Economic Review and VoxEU.org.
Research
- International trade, development, migration and corruption
Pierre-Louis sees himself as an applied-micro economist who uses natural experiments and novel datasets to get a better grasp of policy issues in trade and development. For example, his latest working paper uses the exodus of the Vietnamese Boat People as a natural experiment to establish causal evidence of a long-run developmental impact of immigration (ie export creation).
His research also often shows that trade policies can impact developing countries in many unexpected ways. In a recent paper in the Journal of Development Economics, he shows how the combination of US trade preferences for Africa with quotas on China has inadvertently transformed Africa into a trade corridor for Chinese apparel exporters.
His current projects are on production fragmentation and development in Factory Asia, on the politics of China’s trade with Africa, on PayPal remittances, on the Dutch Disease in Indonesia, and on foreign investment in Mozambique.
Teaching
Undergraduate
- 6SSPP362 International Trade
- 6YYD0016 Advanced Topics in Development Economics
Further details
Research
Quantitative Political Economy Research Group
The Quantitative Political Economy research group gathers economists and political scientists that are committed to bridging the two disciplines. The common ground is the study politics and policies with advanced quantitative methods and formal modeling.
History and Political Economy Research Group
The History and Political Economy Research Group at King's College London
News
Call for papers issued ahead of fifth annual workshop
A call for papers has been issued ahead of the fifth annual Economics and Politics of Migration workshop.
Trade war between superpowers provided unexpected boost for nation
A trade war between China and the United States triggered by former president Donald Trump created an unexpected boost for Vietnam, new research has shown.
How victims of Soviet-era gulags are shaping prosperity
The Soviet network of gulags may have been set up to dismantle the wealthy bourgeois and intellectual classes but, according to a new study, the practice has...
Call for papers issued ahead of second workshop on migration
The Department of Political Economy is jointly organising a second major workshop on migration.
Discovery of oil and gas can perpetuate 'resource curse' in developing countries
The discovery of large deposits of natural resources triggers a huge spike in arms imports in developing countries, a new academic paper has found.
Events
Sixth Workshop on the Economics and Politics of Migration
The annual Economics and Politics of Migration workshop returns in 2025.
Workshop on the Economics and Politics of Migration 2023
Organised by EBRD, King’s College London, and Kadir Has University
Please note: this event has passed.
2nd EBRD and King’s College London Workshop on the Economics and Politics of Migration
The Department of Political Economy is jointly organising a second major workshop on migration.
Please note: this event has passed.
Workshop on the Economics and Politics of Migration
An international team of scholars and experts will come together next month for a workshop taking an in-depth look at migration.
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
Uncovering kleptocratic behaviour in private jet flights
This blog post suggests tracking the private jet flights of authoritarian leaders to banking locations like Geneva and luxury holiday spots can provide...
Research
Quantitative Political Economy Research Group
The Quantitative Political Economy research group gathers economists and political scientists that are committed to bridging the two disciplines. The common ground is the study politics and policies with advanced quantitative methods and formal modeling.
History and Political Economy Research Group
The History and Political Economy Research Group at King's College London
News
Call for papers issued ahead of fifth annual workshop
A call for papers has been issued ahead of the fifth annual Economics and Politics of Migration workshop.
Trade war between superpowers provided unexpected boost for nation
A trade war between China and the United States triggered by former president Donald Trump created an unexpected boost for Vietnam, new research has shown.
How victims of Soviet-era gulags are shaping prosperity
The Soviet network of gulags may have been set up to dismantle the wealthy bourgeois and intellectual classes but, according to a new study, the practice has...
Call for papers issued ahead of second workshop on migration
The Department of Political Economy is jointly organising a second major workshop on migration.
Discovery of oil and gas can perpetuate 'resource curse' in developing countries
The discovery of large deposits of natural resources triggers a huge spike in arms imports in developing countries, a new academic paper has found.
Events
Sixth Workshop on the Economics and Politics of Migration
The annual Economics and Politics of Migration workshop returns in 2025.
Workshop on the Economics and Politics of Migration 2023
Organised by EBRD, King’s College London, and Kadir Has University
Please note: this event has passed.
2nd EBRD and King’s College London Workshop on the Economics and Politics of Migration
The Department of Political Economy is jointly organising a second major workshop on migration.
Please note: this event has passed.
Workshop on the Economics and Politics of Migration
An international team of scholars and experts will come together next month for a workshop taking an in-depth look at migration.
Please note: this event has passed.
Features
Uncovering kleptocratic behaviour in private jet flights
This blog post suggests tracking the private jet flights of authoritarian leaders to banking locations like Geneva and luxury holiday spots can provide...