Augustin is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He completed his Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government (Economics Track) at Harvard University in May 2021, and his dissertation received the 2021 Outstanding Dissertation Award from the National Tax Association. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford King Centre on Global Development and an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California.
His research interests lie at the intersection of development economics, public economics, and political economy. His primary research agenda focuses on the determinants of state capacity, with a particular emphasis on tax capacity. He also studies the historical origins of social structures and beliefs, and how they continue to shape economic development.
He conducts fieldwork in the D.R. Congo, where he helps manage a non-profit survey organisation, ODEKA (Organisation d'Études Économiques sur le Kasai).
