Lawrence Klin

Lawrence Robert Klein (Omaha, September 14, 1920 – Gladwyne, October 20, 2013) was an American economist.

He was a forerunner of econometric models, creating the "Link" project, which coordinates the economic study of numerous countries and allows the preparation of a short-term forecast on the flow of capital and trade on a global scale.

Professional career

Klein studied Economics at the University of Berkeley, to later graduate from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he received his doctorate in 1944. His thesis director was Paul A. Samuelson.

After completing his studies at MIT, he joined the University of Chicago, where he worked developing the econometric models of the Dutchman Jan Tinbergen. For a brief period he was affiliated with the Communist Party, attracted by Marxist economic theory. This anecdotal episode would come to light in 1954, during the sessions of Senator Joseph McCarthy's Committee on Anti-American Activities, and it would be difficult for him to abandon his academic career in the US for a place at Oxford University. Four years later, he accepted a position at the University of Pennsylvania, where he would teach for three decades.

In addition, Klein worked as an economic adviser during the presidential campaign of Jimmy Carter, who offered him a position in his administration. He traveled as a consultant to numerous countries, including China, where the Chinese Government's State Planning Commission requested his services to initiate the transition to capitalism of the Chinese socialist economy.

Contributions

At the end of World War II, Klein predicted a long boom for the US economy. This opinion contradicted the majority thesis at that time, supported by many of his fellow economists, which predicted a new phase of recession for the country, once the enormous stimuli of the war effort were withdrawn. Klein defined a series of econometric tools to analyze the evolution of an economy based on the aggregate decisions of the millions of agents (companies, households, administrations) involved in economic decisions. Klein's equations made it possible to predict the influence exerted by changes in some variables on others. Using his model, Klein predicted that strong demand for consumer goods would revive the postwar economy, as it did; The US experienced an economic boom during the postwar period, with average annual growth of 3.8% since 1946, which would come to an end in the mid-1970s, with the Oil Crisis of 1973. «The only satisfactory test of a economic theory is its predictive capacity", maintained the author.

Death

Klein passed away on October 20, 2013 in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, USA at age 93.

Acknowledgments

In 1980 he was awarded the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel for his impact and influence in the field of empirical economics. In this field he developed reliable statistical models to analyze and predict economic trends. "Growing up during the Great Depression had a profound influence on my career," Klein stated in her Award acceptance speech.

Works

• The Keynesian Revolution (1947)
• Econometry manual (1968)
• Economy of supply and demand (1983)
• China and India: Two Asian Economic Giants, Two Different Systems (2004). Applied Econometrics and International Development (in English)