Meet the economics professor who keeps running office hours

On any given day, most of the athletes pounding the banked Albert H. Gordon Indoor Track are members of the Crimson’s varsity squad. But one of the world’s foremost economists is an equally reliable presence. Andrei Shleifer can be found there — moving at more of a jogging pace, he said — holding morning office hours with students while he circles the 200-meter track.

“I like running because the students I meet are amazing,” said Shleifer, the John L. Loeb Professor of Economics. “They are kind, friendly, personable, and very fun to talk to. They can probably walk faster than I run, but each has their own amazing story. I don’t like running alone, so it has been wonderful for me to have their company, and occasionally I try to mentor and help.”

“He’s always very welcoming and willing to help,” said Michal Husek ’26, who competed in the hurdles and 400-meter relay for the Crimson. “I don’t know how he does it because he’s in touch with so many students, but he always cares. On the runs, he’s always talking about things outside of the classroom and athletics; he’s really invested in how we’re doing as people.”

Shleifer’s connection with the Crimson track and field program began in the 1990s when he advised Paul Gompers ’87, a former long-distance standout (a cross-country All-American and multiple All-Ivy League honoree) during his doctoral work. Gompers now teaches business administration at Harvard Business School.

“I have been jogging with Ph.D. students and undergrads for many years — slowly and not very far — and have enjoyed it greatly,” Shleifer said, who also holds traditional office hours for non-running students. “Three or four years ago, after the COVID-19 pandemic, access to Gordon Track became much more limited, and I talked with Paul about how I can no longer use it during cold months. Paul then introduced me to [Associate Head Coach Marc] Mangiacotti.”

From there, Shleifer and several members from the track and field program forged a true bond.

“He’s provided one of the best pieces of guidance I’ve had in my first year at Harvard,” said Joachim “Yaya” Johnson ’29, a triple and high jumper from Lansdowne, Pa., who ultimately landed in Shleifer’s department for his concentration. “The whole economics world is new to me, and Professor Shleifer helped me take the more direct and deliberate path in my academics.”

For Husek, an international student from the Czech Republic, receiving support from someone outside of athletics broadened his perspective. “Sometimes as an athlete, you can get caught up in the training aspect. He always empowered us to take the classes you want to take,” said the economics concentrator. “Professor Shleifer has been an amazing resource and helped us get the most out of our Harvard experience.”

Reuben Henry-Daire ’26, a sprinter and economics concentrator from the U.K., said Shleifer helped him focus on the idea that “hard work beats talent.”

“He motivated me to enroll in more challenging classes in economics and gave me that belief that I can succeed in those settings,” Henry-Daire said.

Christopher Ruaño ’26, a double concentrator in computer science and economics, ended up taking Shleifer’s political economics course, which allowed students to self-direct their study of comparative political systems as well as ethnicity, corruption, rule of law, and regulation.

“The structure was so interesting; it was very self-directed,” Ruaño said. “That was a huge experience for me because it made me think differently about economics and what you can do with it.”

The high jumper from Milford, Conn., delivered an ambitious senior thesis titled “Illuminating the Invisible Fleet: Satellite Measurement of Dark Fishing and Its Economic Consequences,” with Shleifer serving as his advisor. Ruaño was awarded a Thomas T. Hoopes Prize and the Seymour E. and Ruth B. Harris Prize for outstanding thesis from the economics department.

“Using satellite data and some machine learning algorithms, we can track illegal fishing in particular parts of the world,” Ruaño said. “I documented these displacement effects and saw how illegal fishing is moving legal and local fishers around. You can then see how the pricing affected the local system. Professor Shleifer is a big believer in immersing yourself in the data and letting the hypothesis find you.”

“He’s the most involved professor I’ve seen with the undergraduate population,” Ruaño added. “He can really see us progress year over year and really see us push beyond what we thought was possible.”