Pavel Kocourek

I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Barcelona. My research spans economic theory, game theory, information economics, and AI safety and governance.

Previously, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Duisburg–Essen (2023–2026), working on Eugen Kovac’s DFG-funded project “Timing Games: Theory and Applications,” and before that a researcher at CERGE-EI in Prague. I hold a Ph.D. in Economics from New York University (2019).

News

• Fall 2026 Mentoring the SPAR project “The Economic Value of AI Capability Gains”With six mentees working in three sub-teams — a Bank of Canada economist, a Rice PhD now at Cornerstone Research, doctoral researchers at KU Leuven and the Halle Institute for Economic Research, and undergraduates from Imperial College London and NYU. Details on the teaching page.
• Fall 2026 Joined the University of Barcelona as an Assistant Professor.
• Summer 2026 AI and Society Fellow at the Center for AI SafetyPreliminary results on frontier-lab profitability: interactive explorer.