François Bourguignon is the Director of the Paris School of Economics. Back in France in 2007, following four years as the Chief Economist and first Vice President of the World Bank in Washington, he has also returned to his former position of Professor of Economics at the EHESS (advanced school in Social Sciences). Trained as a statistician, he obtained a Ph D. in Economics at the University of Western Ontario, followed by a State Doctorate at the University of Orleans in France. His work is both theoretical and empirical and principally aims at the distribution and the redistribution of revenue in developing and developed countries. He is the author of a great number of books and articles in specialized national and international economic journals. He has taught throughout Universities worldwide. He has received, during the course of his career, a number of scientific distinctions/decorations/has been decorated. Through his experience, he is often sought for counsel to Governments and international organisations throughout the world.

Recent Publications include: "The Impact of Economic Policies on Poverty and Income Distribution: Evaluation Techniques and Tools", (with L. Pereira), Oxford University Press, 2003. "The Microeconomics of Income Distribution Dynamics in East Asia and Latin America" (with F. Ferreira & N. Lustig), Oxford University Press, 2005. "The Impact of Macroeconomic Policies on Poverty and Income Distribution" (with M. Bussolo & L. Pereira), Palgrave, 2008. "Itinéraires de l'économie mondiale", entretiens with F. Boutin-Dufresne, Nota Bene, 2010."

François Bourguignon joined IZA as a Research Fellow in February 2012.