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Lawrence KleinAmerican economist
Date of Birth: 14.09.1920
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Lawrence Klein
Early Life and EducationLawrence Robert Klein was born on September 14, 1920, in Omaha, Nebraska. He attended Los Angeles City College and later enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, where he began studying computer modeling. Klein obtained a bachelor's degree in economics in 1942 and then went on to earn a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1944.
Career and Contributions
After joining the Cowles Commission for Research in Economics at the University of Chicago, Klein developed a model of the United States economy to forecast business activity and analyze the effects of government economic policies. He accurately predicted an economic upturn after World War II, despite prevailing beliefs of an impending depression, due to the returning soldiers' increased consumer demand. Klein also successfully forecasted a moderate economic downturn at the end of the Korean War.
In collaboration with Arthur Goldberger at the University of Michigan, Klein refined the macroeconomic model known as the Klein-Goldberger model. This model, which captured the evolution of the U.S. economy, drew heavily on the work of Dutch economist Jan Tinbergen.
Klein briefly had ties to the Communist Party in the 1940s. However, when his party membership became public during the McCarthy era in 1954, he was forced to leave the University of Michigan. He temporarily moved to Oxford, where he collaborated with Sir James Ball on an economic model for the United Kingdom. Klein returned to the United States in 1958 and began teaching economics at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1968, he became a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
During the 1976 U.S. presidential elections, Klein coordinated Jimmy Carter's economic advisory group. Ultimately, he declined an invitation to join Carter's administration. Klein served as the president of the Econometric Society in 1960 and the American Economic Association in 1977.
Later Years and Legacy
After retiring, Klein continued to work on developing predictive econometric models and models for analyzing the dynamics of construction activities. He was one of the founding members and trustees of the non-governmental organization "Economists for Peace and Security," registered with the United Nations.
Lawrence Klein was married to Sondra Adelson and had four children: geneticist Hannah, teacher Rebecca, editor Rachel, and programmer Jonathan. He passed away at the age of 94 on October 20, 2013, at his home. Professor Martin Feldstein of Harvard University once stated in the Wall Street Journal that Klein was "the first to turn statistical models into a Keynesian economics reality."
