Lawrence R. Klein, Economist and Nobel Prize Winner, Passes Away

Lawrence R. Klein, Benjamin Franklin Professor of Economics (emeritus) at the University of Pennsylvania and recipient of the Nobel Prize, died October 20, 2013.

Klein was a member of the economics department at Penn from 1958 until his retirement in 1991, though he continued as an active researcher and valued colleague long after his formal retirement. He pioneered the development of macroeconometric models used to predict global economic trends. While many economists believed another depression would occur in the aftermath of World War II, Klein rightly predicted a flourishing economy, based on, among other things, unsatisfied demand for consumer goods during wartime and the purchasing power of returning soldiers.

In 1980, Klein won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for creating econometric models and applying them to economic fluctuations and policies. His Nobel citation states that "few, if any, research workers in the empirical field of economic science have had so many successors and such a large impact as Lawrence Klein." 

At Penn, Professor Klein led the graduate group in economics for more than 20 years, taught undergraduates in the honors program, and mentored more graduate students and directed more doctoral theses per year than any other departmental member. Klein also created the Penn Institute for Economic Research (PIER), which enhanced the University's role as one of the leading institutions in the world to study economics.

Read the full story here.

See also:  “Lawrence R. Klein, Economic Theorist, Dies at 93” in The New York Times.

Arts & Sciences News

Hanming Fang Named Inaugural Norman C. Grosman Professor of Economics

An applied microeconomist who integrates rigorous modeling with data analysis, Fang’s research within the field of public economics focuses on health insurance and healthcare markets.

View Article >
Julie Nelson Davis Named Paul F. Miller, Jr. and E. Warren Shafer Miller Professor of History of Art

Davis specializes in the arts and material cultures of 18th- and 19th-century Japan, with a focus on prints, paintings, and illustrated books.

View Article >
Justin Khoury Named Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Physics and Astronomy

Khoury’s research interests lie at the intersection of particle physics and cosmology.

View Article >
University of Pennsylvania, Neubauer Family Foundation, and Philadelphia Police Department Partner to Support Police Leadership Education

The first-of-its-kind graduate degree in the U.S. for police leaders launches this fall at the School of Arts & Sciences.

View Article >
Professor of Biology Philip Rea Wins Neal Award for Scientific Journalism

Rea won for the award for Best Technical/Scientific Content for his article “Gliflozins for Diabetes: From Bark to Bench to Bedside,” published in American Scientist.

View Article >
Marisa C. Kozlowski Named Next Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences

Kozlowski, who joined the Penn faculty in 1997, succeeds Mark Trodden, who transitions to the Dean of Penn Arts & Sciences on June 1.

View Article >