Koichi Hamada

Koichi Hamada is Tuntex Professor Emeritus of Economics at Yale University and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. Widely recognised as a leading economist in the fields of international economics, political economy, and the Japanese economy, he has been a member of Yale’s faculty since 1986, following an academic career at the University of Tokyo.

A pioneer in the application of game theory to international finance, Professor Hamada’s research has significantly advanced the study of international monetary policy coordination and strategic macroeconomic interactions among nations. He was also among the earliest scholars to introduce the field of Law and Economics to Japan during the 1970s. Professor Hamada is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and served on its Council from 1980 to 1985. He was President of the Japanese Association of Economics and Econometrics (now the Japan Economic Association) from 1994 to 1995 and founded the Japan Law and Economics Association in 2003, where he now serves as Honorary Fellow. In recognition of his distinguished contributions to Japan, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star, in 2006.

Throughout his career, Professor Hamada has played an influential role in economic policymaking in Japan, serving on numerous advisory committees for the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), the Economic Planning Agency, and other government bodies. From 2001 to 2002, he took leave from Yale to become the inaugural President of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) within Japan’s Cabinet Office, where he advised the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy and oversaw policy-oriented research and national accounts. His international public service includes membership on the International Monetary Fund’s external evaluation team for the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF), as well as advisory roles to successive Directors-General of the World Trade Organisation on the future of the global trading system. In 2012, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appointed Professor Hamada as Special Economic Advisor to the Cabinet, where he played a key role in shaping Japan’s economic policy during the implementation of Abenomics.

Professor Hamada has received numerous academic honors and fellowships, including the Fulbright Scholarship, Ford Dissertation Fellowship, and IRIS Fellowship. His awards include the Nikkei Tosho Bunka Prize (1967), the Ekonomisuto Prize (1980), and the Otto Eckstein Prize (1988) from the Eastern Economic Association.

He earned an LL.B. from the University of Tokyo, having passed Japan’s National Bar Examination in 1957, followed by an M.A. in Economics from the University of Tokyo and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University.