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Axel LeijonhufvudSwedish-born American economist
Country:
 USA |
Content:
- Biography of Axel Leijonhufvud
- Early Life and Education
- Academic Career
- Contributions and Influences
- Recognition and Legacy
Biography of Axel Leijonhufvud
Axel Leijonhufvud is an American economist of Swedish descent, associated with the neo-Keynesian school of thought. He is currently an honorary professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a professor at the University of Trento in Italy. His main research interests lie in the fields of macroeconomics, monetary theory, and European economic history. Leijonhufvud's studies examine high inflation, alternative currency regimes, the transformation of socialist systems, computational economics, and the evolution of modern macroeconomics.
Early Life and Education
Axel Leijonhufvud was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1933. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Lund and his master's degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1967, he earned his Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University.
Academic Career
In 1964, Axel Leijonhufvud joined the faculty of the University of California, Los Angeles as a senior lecturer. He was promoted to adjunct professor in 1967 and became a full professor in 1971. In 1991, Leijonhufvud founded the Center for Computable Economics at UCLA and served as its director until 1997. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Lund in 1983.
In 1995, Leijonhufvud accepted a professorship in monetary theory and policy at the University of Trento in Italy. He is also affiliated with the Computable and Experimental Economics Laboratory (CEEL) at the university.
Contributions and Influences
Axel Leijonhufvud's works on monetary theory have been strongly influenced by the early works of his mentor and senior colleague, American economist Robert Wayne Clower, who passed away in May 2011. In 1968, Leijonhufvud published a seminal work titled "On Keynesian Economics and the Economics of Keynes: A study in monetary theory."
Recognition and Legacy
In 2006, the economics faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles organized a conference in honor of Axel Leijonhufvud's contributions to the department and the field of economics as a whole. Notable participants in this conference included Lars Peter Hansen, Peter Howitt, David K. Levine, Edmund S. Phelps, Thomas J. Sargent, and Kenneth Sokoloff.
