Solomon Hsiang

Solomon Hsiang founded and directs the Global Policy Laboratory at UC Berkeley. The lab uses data science and mathematical models to answer fundamental questions regarding climate change, economic development, war and violence, global health, natural disasters, human migration, food security, black markets, and ecosystem management. His recent work uncovered the effect of global temperature on global economic growth and inequality, the underpinnings of gang violence in Mexico, and the effect of legal ivory sales on global elephant poaching. Hsiang received B.S. degrees from MIT in earth, atmospheric, and planetary science and in urban studies and regional planning; he received a Ph.D. in sustainable development from Columbia and completed postdoctoral work at Princeton. He is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.