| American economist Date of Birth: 27.07.1924 Country: USA |
Arnold Harberger was an American economist and member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. He was known for his significant contributions to the fields of public finance, cost-benefit analysis, international economics, inflation economics, and economic policy in developing countries. In fact, the Harberger triangle, also known as the triangle of deadweight loss, is named in his honor and is frequently used in welfare economics.
Arnold Harberger was born on July 27, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey. He completed his Bachelor's degree in Economics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland in 1943. He then went on to obtain a Master's degree in International Relations and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago in 1947 and 1950, respectively. Under the guidance of the renowned Chicago economist Lloyd Metzler, Harberger wrote his doctoral dissertation on international macroeconomic theory. However, his academic reputation primarily rests on his work in the field of public finance and taxation economics.
From 1949 to 1953, Harberger taught at Johns Hopkins University before returning to Chicago, Illinois, where he served as a professor from 1953 to 1982. He continued to have a part-time position at the University of Chicago from 1984 to 1991. Additionally, starting in 1984, he also taught at the University of California, Los Angeles. Harberger was honored with an honorary degree from the Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala.
On March 15, 1958, Harberger married Anita Valjalo, a Chilean woman. They had two children together. Harberger is fluent in Spanish. He met Anita in Chicago at a party organized by his students, and they got married in London. Harberger had to travel to England to spend some time in London and Cambridge, and Anita joined him after finishing her semester at Northwestern University. Their wedding was attended only by economists and their families since they were the only people he knew at the time. Harberger is also known for providing extensive support to his students and actively participating in their careers.
It is worth mentioning that among his former students from the University of Chicago and the University of California, there are at least a dozen presidents of major American and international banks, two dozen foreign government ministers, numerous economists from leading American universities, and leaders of international organizations. However, the most notable episode of his teaching career is his mentorship of a group of 25 Chilean economists known as the "Chicago Boys," who played a key role in the free-market reforms in Chile in the 1970s.
Harberger had many Latin American students, with over 300 individuals, who held influential positions in the governments of their respective countries, especially Chile and Argentina. He developed a significant consulting practice as an economic advisor in Latin America, which sparked controversy and even condemnation due to his provision of economic advice to the dictatorial regime of Pinochet in Chile.
Throughout his career, Harberger was invited as an expert by government leaders from dozens of countries. Thanks to his reputation as a "practicing" economist who constantly stayed abreast of the latest economic events worldwide, he held positions as a consultant for major international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank, and the Organization of American States. As a visiting professor, he taught at Harvard and Princeton Universities, the University of Paris, the MIT Center for International Studies in New Delhi, and the Institute for the Economy in Transition in Moscow.