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Jacques DrezeBelgian Economy
Country:
 Belgium |
Content:
- Biography of Jacques Drèze
- Academic Career and Contributions
- Later Career
- Family and Legacy
- Awards and Recognition
Biography of Jacques Drèze
Early Life and EducationJacques Drèze, a Belgian economist, was born in 1929 in Verviers, Belgium, near the border with Germany. He studied at the University of Liège, located near his hometown, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics. He then pursued his doctoral studies at Columbia University in New York, under the supervision of Nobel laureate William Vickrey. His dissertation focused on individual decision making under partially controllable uncertainty.
Academic Career and Contributions
Drèze began his academic career at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh but returned to Europe after one year. In 1958, he joined the faculty of the Catholic University of Louvain, where he taught until 1989. During his time at Louvain, Drèze became involved in the establishment of several organizations that contributed to strengthening economic research in Europe. He played a pivotal role in the creation and development of the Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE), the European Doctoral Program in Quantitative Economics (EDP), and the European Economic Association (EEA). CORE, which Drèze initiated and served as the first director and president, quickly became a leading international research center. Its extensive research output has been remarkable, including over 110 books, 125 doctoral dissertations, and more than 1700 published articles. CORE's success has served as a model for other European countries.
Later Career
In addition to his work at Louvain, Drèze held visiting professor positions at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and Cornell University. At the age of 60, in 1989, Drèze decided to retire from teaching and administrative duties to focus on active research.
Family and Legacy
Jacques Drèze has five sons, one of whom, Jean Drèze, followed in his father's footsteps and became an economist. Jean is known for his work on poverty and hunger in India and is an activist in hunger-fighting movements. Another son, Xavier Drèze, is a marketing professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Awards and Recognition
Drèze is a distinguished foreign member of several prestigious academies, including the American Economic Association, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the British Academy.
