George Akerlof grew up in various cities on the East Coast, particularly Princeton, in a family of scientists among whom he was something of an outsider. “I thought about things that did not interest them. I was interested in social things: history and, if children can have such interests, economics,” he says in his Nobel Laureate biography. Below, he reveals more about himself and his early life.
Q. What do you wake up to?
A. I look at the sun outside my window.
Q. What music have you listened to today?
A. I don’t know that I’ve listened to any music today.
Q. What’s your favorite word?
A. I like all words, I think.
Q. What do you find beautiful?
A. Actually I find the architecture of [Los Angeles Central Library] very beautiful. I like all of Los Angeles and California architecture.
Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A. An economist.
Q. What is your favorite alcoholic beverage?
A. I don’t drink…but I think red wine, probably.
Q. If you could take only one more journey, where would you go?
A. I actually think the best place in the world is Berkeley, California. That’s my favorite place to go. Since I live there I guess I’d want to go somewhere else. I’d like to go to China again – I haven’t been in a long time.
Q. What profession would you like to practice in your next life?
A. An economist.
Q. What would be your death row meal?
A. A good pizza.
Q. What is your favorite holiday and why?
A. Christmas is nice, I think everybody likes Christmas.
Q. What is your fondest childhood memory?
A. Reading books about a pig called Freddie the Pig, a talking pig who lived in New York state.
Q. What promise do you make to yourself that you break the most often?
A. I think I usually don’t make promises that I break. If I make a promise to myself I usually keep it.
Q. What should you throw away but haven’t been able to part with?
A. There are some old clothes I should sort out and throw away. And there are probably too many books on my bookshelf that I should clear out to make room for other books.
Q. Who is the one person living or dead that you’d most love to have a meal with?
A. My wife and child.
To learn more about George Akerlof’s talk at Zócalo, click here.
*Photo by Aaron Salcido.