Dimitris Papadimitriou

Dimitri B. Papadimitriou (born 9 June 1946, in Thessaloniki) is a Greek and American economist, author, and college professor.

Dimitri B. Papadimitriou was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1946.

He received his BA from Columbia College, Columbia University, in 1969, and a PhD in Economics from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in 1986.

He worked in the William Penn Life Insurance Company of New York, from 1969 until 1977, where he became Executive Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the company.

In 1975/76, Papadimitriou was Adjunct Professor on the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research, He was the Executive Vice President of Bard College (1977-2017), and Jerome Levy Professor of Economics, at Bard College since 1977.

He is President of the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College since its inception in 1986 and Jerome Levy Professor of Economics and Executive Vice President Emeritus, at Bard College since 1977.

Papadimitriou is the President of the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College since 1986.

Papadimitriou has served as Vice Chairman of the Trade Deficit Review Commission of the United States Congress for the period 1999-2001.

He has provided testimony in Congress, as follows:

He was a Visiting Professor at Smolny College in St. Petersburg (Russia) in 2002, and a Distinguished Scholar at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, in China since 2002.

Since 2009, he is a fellow of the Economists for Peace and Security organization.

Papadimitriou is a regular contributor to the pages of Greece's Kathimerini daily newspaper, and guest-comments in the Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post website and on Bloomberg Radio.

Papadimitriou had been co-author of a study of the economy of Greece, published in 2014, where the following "policy options" were suggested: A significant, external, financial assistance to Greece through Marshall Plan–type capital transfers from the European Union; a temporary suspension of interest payments on the public debt of Greece; the use of those financial resources toward increasing demand and employment; the introduction of a parallel financial system based on new government bonds, the so-named "Geuros"; and the adoption of an employer-of-last-resort (ELR) program financed through that parallel financial system.

The authors argued that their proposal "seems to provide the best strategy for a recovery, having immediate effects on Greek living standards, while [also] containing the effects on [the Greek] foreign debt.

From 5 November 2016 until February 2018, he was Greece's Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism in the government of Alexis Tsipras.

He also served as Provost and Vice President of Bard College at Simon's Rock.

In November 2016, and taking a leave from Bard College for this reason, Papadimitriou was appointed Greece's Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism in the Syriza-led government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

On 27 February 2018, Papadimitriou resigned from the Greek government citing "reasons of political sensitivity," following revelations that his wife, Rania Antonopoulos, Alternate Minister for Social Solidarity, who had also resigned the previous days, was the recipient of a legal state stipend for housing expenses.

Papadimitriou is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Symphony Orchestra, and of the editorial boards of the Journal of Economic Analysis, Challenge, and the Bulletin of Political Economy.

He is also a member of the International Board of Advisors of ELIAMEP and of ETERON.

In 2019, Papadimitriou served as the Interim Provost of Bard College at Simon's Rock.

Papadimitriou is the author, editor and co-editor of fifteen books and many articles published in various economic journals and on the Levy Institute’s website.