It was launched in 1990 by Francesco Giavazzi, Mario Monti, and Richard Portes as a joint project of Bocconi University, the CEPR and the NBER and named in memory of Innocenzo Gasparini, former rector of Bocconi University.
He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Economic Growth, a co-director of the NBER research group on Income Distribution and Macroeconomics, and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research.
In addition to his academic position, Wright is a Research Associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the Bank of Canada, NBER, and Panthéon-Assas University.