Dear NBER Colleagues -
I am very sorry to share the news that NBER President Emeritus Martin
Feldstein passed away today. During his more than three decades as
President, Marty dramatically expanded the NBER's role in supporting and
disseminating economic research. He launched the Summer Institute and
the annual cycle of program meetings, facilitating collaboration and
scholarly discussion. He promoted the NBER Working Paper series as a
vehicle for distributing new research findings, and he directed numerous
research projects. He was prolific, wide-ranging, and one of the most
influential economists of the last half century.
Marty was a pioneer in the use of large micro data sets to study the
behavior of households and firms. He made path-breaking contributions
in health economics, taxation, inflation, social insurance programs,
fiscal policy, international capital flows, and other areas. He played
a key role in shaping the modern field of public economics, working on
important questions and finding creative empirical strategies to shed
new light on them. In recognition of his research contributions, Marty
received the John Bates Clark Medal of the American Economic Association
(AEA) in 1977. He served as President of the AEA in 2004.
Marty was the George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard
University. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his
doctorate from Oxford, writing a dissertation on the empirical analysis
of efficiency patterns in the National Health Service. He joined the
Harvard faculty in 1967, where he remained throughout his career. He
was a mentor and advisor for scores of students, as well as a very
successful teacher. For more than two decades, he taught introductory
economics, "Social Analysis 10" or "Ec 10," a course that often
attracted more than half of the undergraduate class.
Marty was a dedicated and respected public servant. He chaired
President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers from 1982 until 1984,
served on President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and was a
member of the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. He was a tireless
participant in public policy discussions. He served as a trustee of the
Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Trilateral Commission
and the Group of 30.
Marty was a visionary scholar who by his research, teaching, and NBER
leadership advanced applied economics. He transformed the NBER, and we
are all greatly in his debt. I was fortunate to be one of his students
and collaborators, and he was a close friend. He will be deeply missed.
Jim Poterba
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Received on Tue Jun 11 2019 - 19:23:49 EDT
