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The Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau

A speakers bureau that represents the best original thinkers,
writers, and doers for speaking engagements.

Raj Chetty

Build pathways to opportunity today—and unlock economic growth, thriving communities, and prosperity for generations to come.

Harvard Economist | MacArthur Genius Studying Economic Opportunity | Director of Opportunity Insights

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Lavin Exclusive Speaker

How can we unlock new opportunity for our cities, our communities, and our children? Raj Chetty knows. Called “the single most influential economist in the world today” by Tyler Cowen (The Great Stagnation), Raj is a Harvard professor and MacArthur Genius who has spent his career developing scalable, data-driven solutions that enable communities across America to expand opportunity and achieve sustainable economic growth. He’s the director of Harvard’s Opportunity Insights, where he’s launching pilot programs to increase productivity and economic mobility in cities across America, and his groundbreaking research has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and many more. In keynotes that audiences describe as “life-changing,” Raj shares concrete solutions customized to your city that can spark tangible change for generations to come. For leaders who want to create lasting progress and economic growth in their communities, he offers both the vision and the practical roadmap to make it happen.

Raj Chetty is the William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard and one of the youngest tenured professors in the university’s history. He is a recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious John Bates Clark medal, given to the economist under 40 whose work is judged to have made the most significant contribution to the field, and Harvard’s George Ledlie prize, awarded for research that made the most valuable contribution to science, or in any way for the benefit of mankind. He has been ranked one of the top 10 education scholars in America (EdWeek).

At Harvard, Raj is the Director of Opportunity Insights, a nonpartisan not-for-profit organization that tackles big societal questions such as: how can we give children from all backgrounds better chances of succeeding? Their research shows, for example, that children’s chances of earning more than their parents have been declining. 90% of children born in 1940 grew up to earn more than their parents. Today, only half of all children earn more than their parents did. Raj and his team seek to reverse this trend and revive the American Dream. They work collaboratively with local stakeholders to translate their research findings into policy change and to train the next generation of social scientists and practitioners to improve opportunity for all.

Raj received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 2003, and, since then, his work has been widely cited in academia, mainstream media outlets, and policy discussions in the United States and beyond.

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Speech Topics

Politics & Society

The Road to OpportunityNew Solutions for Economic Growth and Breakthrough Prosperity

What does it actually take to help communities grow, prosper, and thrive? Raj Chetty knows—and he’s bringing the blueprint to you. Called “the single most influential economist in the world today,” Raj leads Harvard’s Opportunity Insights, where he’s developing scalable, data-driven solutions for economic growth through the science of economic mobility. Through his original research, he’s identified the exact steps that leaders can take to generate opportunity for generations to come. In fascinating talks customized to your specific city and community, Raj shares research-backed strategies that audiences describe as “life-changing,” providing clear pathways to boost productivity and build sustainable growth. Audiences walk away inspired to act and knowing exactly how to create lasting change in your city—with both the data to prove it works and the practical roadmap to make it happen.