The School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong will be hosting a Distinguished Lecture by Professor David M. Cutler, Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics, Harvard University on “Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in an Era of Pandemic Disease”, on October 31. Details are as follows:

Biography

Professor David Cutler has developed an impressive record of achievement in both academia and the public sector. He served as Assistant Professor of Economics from 1991 to 1995, was named John L. Loeb Associate Professor of Social Sciences in 1995, and received tenure in 1997. He is currently the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics in the Department of Economics and was named Harvard College Professor in 2014 until 2019. Professor Cutler holds secondary appointments at the Kennedy School of Government and the School of Public Health of Harvard University. Professor Cutler was Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for Social Sciences from 2003-2008 at Harvard.

Honoured for his scholarly work and singled out for outstanding mentorship of graduate students, Professor Cutler's work in health economics and public economics has earned him significant academic and public acclaim. Professor Cutler served on the Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration and has advised the Presidential campaigns of Bill Bradley, John Kerry, and Barack Obama as well as being Senior Health Care Advisor for the Obama Presidential Campaign. Among other affiliations, Professor Cutler has held positions with the National Institutes of Health and the National Academy of Sciences. Currently, Professor Cutler is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He advises many companies and groups on health care.

Professor Cutler was a key advisor in the formulation of the recent cost control legislation in Massachusetts, and is one of the members of the Health Policy Commission created to help reduce medical spending in that state.

Professor Cutler is author of three books, several chapters in edited books, and many published papers on the topics of health care and other public policy topics. Author of Your Money Or Your Life: Strong Medicine for America's Health Care System, published by Oxford University Press, this book, and Professor Cutler's ideas, were the subject of a feature article in the New York Times Magazine, The Quality Cure, by Roger Lowenstein. Cutler recently completed a book, Survival of the City: The Future of Urban Life in an Age of Isolation (with Edward Glaeser), examining how cities need to and can adapt to pandemics and other threats. 

Professor Cutler received an AB from Harvard University (1987) and a PhD in Economics from MIT (1991).

About the Lecture

Cities are among mankind’s greatest innovations, and yet they are fragile. Pandemics cause people to flee cities, and poor governance leads to out-migration. This lecture builds on a recent book by Cutler and Ed Glaeser, “Survival of the City,” analysing the precarious nature of urban life and solutions to longstanding urban problems.

Programme Rundown 

Please view here for the rundown.

Registration

Please register here by October 30, 2024 (Wednesday) at 11am. 

A confirmation email will be sent to successful registrants.

Enquiry
For enquiries, please email sphevent@hku.hk.