Voting Station

Jan Tinbergen

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Economist

The Resume

    (April 12, 1903-June 9, 1994)
    Born in The Hague, Netherlands
    Pioneer in creating dynamic models to analyze economic processes
    Professor of mathematics and statistics at the Netherland School of Economics (1933-73)
    Founding member of the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (1945)
    Wrote 'Business Cycles in the United States, 1919-32' (1939), 'Econometrics' (1953), 'Economic Policy: Principles and Design' (1956), 'Income Distribution: Analysis and Policies' (1975), and 'World Security and Equity' (1990)
    Co-recipient of the first Nobel Prize in Economics (1969)

Why he might be annoying:

    He originally majored in physics before deciding economics would allow him to contribute more to society.
    A skeptical John Maynard Keynes dismissed his economic modeling as 'statistical alchemy.'
    He was an advocate for a one-world government: 'Mankind's problems can no longer be solved by national governments.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    Keynes admitted, 'No one could be more frank, more painstaking, more free from subjective bias than Professor Tinbergen.'
    His emphasis on the distinction between 'targets' (economic variables a policy maker wants to influence, such as the inflation rate) and 'instruments' (economic variables a policy can control, such as short-term interest rates) became one of the foundations of modern monetary policy.
    He provided economic advice to developing countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Venezuela, and Suriname.
    His brother Nikolas won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1973), making them the only Nobel Prize-winning siblings.

Credit: C. Fishel


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying