On Monday 21 June 2021 Erasmus School of Economics livestreamed the international book launch of the biography about Jan Tinbergen, the first Nobel Memorial Prize winner in Economics. The biography by Dr Erwin Dekker is entiteld 'Jan Tinbergen and the Rise of Economic Expertise'.
About the event
One of the participants in the programme is Prof. James J. Heckman, University of Chicago and Nobel Prize laureate in Economics in 2000. He says: "The life work of Jan Tinbergen shaped and continues to shape the way economics and theory-guided economic policy is done. Author Dr Erwin Dekker presents an engaging intellectual history that places the evolution of his technical work and policy analyses in a network of ideas and thinkers who addressed the biggest social questions of their day in order to improve human welfare. It exposits the intellectual and moral contributions of a pioneer of modern economics." This biography is part of an ongoing research project ‘Jan Tinbergen: The Thinker’, supported by ESPhil, EIPE, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus Initiative 'Dynamics of Inclusive Prosperity' and the Erasmus Trustfonds.
The event involved an introduction by Former Dean of and Professor of Applied Econometrics and Professor of Marketing Research at the Econometric Institute, Erasmus School of Economics, Philip Hans Franses. This was followed by an explanation of Tinbergen's contribution to econometrics by James J. Heckman, Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and Nobel Memorial Prize winner in economics (2000). Afterwards, a panel discussion moderated by Arjo Klamer with Dr Erwin Dekker, Prof. Esther-Mirjam Sent (Professor of Economic Theory and Policy at Radboud University Nijmegen) and Prof. Philip Hans Franses took place. The book launch was closed with an Q&A by Arjo Klamer, Professor of the Economics of Art and Culture at Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication.
About Jan Tinbergen
Jan Tinbergen was the first Nobel Prize winner in Economics and one of the most influential economists of the 20th century. This book argues that his crucial contribution is the theory of economic policy and the legitimation of economic expertise in service of the state. It traces his youthful socialist ideals which found political direction in the Plan-socialist movement of the 1930s for which he developed new economic models to combat the Great Depression.
After World War II he was able to synthesize that work into a theory of economic policy which not only provided a lasting framework for economic policy around the world, but also secured a permanent place for economic experts close to government. The book then turns to an examination of his attempt to repeat this achievement in the development projects in the Global South and at the international level for the United Nations.
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You can watch the livestream of the event here.
