Elhanan Helpman אלחנן הלפמן | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1946-03-30)March 30, 1946 (age 79) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Tel Aviv University (BA,MA) Harvard University (PhD) |
| Doctoral advisor | Richard E. Caves Hendrik S. Houthakker |
| Influences | Eitan Berglas Menahem Yaari |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | International trade Economic growth Political economy |
| Institutions | Harvard University Tel Aviv University |
| Notable ideas | new trade theory,new growth theory, special interest politics, trade and market structure |
| Awards | Israel Prize BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award EMET Prize Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics Onassis Prize |
| Website | |
Elhanan Helpman (Hebrew:אלחנן הלפמן; born March 30, 1946) is an Israelieconomist who is currently the Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade atHarvard University. He is also a professor emeritus at the Eitan Berglas School of Economics atTel Aviv University.[1] Helpman is among the thirty most cited economists in the world according toIDEAS/RePEc.[2]
Helpman was born inJalal-Abad,Kyrgyz SSR, in 1946 and immigrated with his family toIsrael. He had planned to study engineering, but soon changed his mind. Helpman recounts the story of a friend who studied economics, and often carriedSamuelson's thick textbook to evening classes. When Helpman casually picked up the book to read, he simply could not stop. It was then he realized he would become an economist. His voracious reading across multiple fields would characterize his approach to knowledge, allowing him to research in many different fields.[3][4]
He graduated from Tel Aviv University twice, first with aB.A. in economics and statistics (1969) and then as a member of the first graduating class in the economicsM.A. program (1971). Just three years later he completed hisPh.D. in economics at Harvard. Returning immediately to Tel Aviv University, he was a lecturer and later a university professor (1974–2004). In 1997, having already made landmark contributions in three separate areas of economics, he agreed to return to Harvard University.
He is married to Ruth Helpman, and has two daughters. All three women are highly trained professionals. A renaissance man of many interests, his passion isopera.[5]
Helpman's contributions include studies of thebalance of payments,exchange-rate regimes, stabilization programs andforeign debt. Most important, however, are his studies ofinternational trade,economic growth andpolitical economy. He is a cofounder of the "new trade theory'' and the "new growth theory,'' which emphasize the roles ofeconomies of scale andimperfect competition. Much of his work in trade, growth, and political economy is summarized in eight books:Market Structure and Foreign Trade (withPaul Krugman),Trade Policy and Market Structure (with Paul Krugman),Innovation and Growth in the Global Economy (withGene Grossman),Special Interest Politics (with Gene Grossman),Interest Groups and Trade Policy (with Gene Grossman),The Mystery of Economic Growth,Understanding Global Trade,Globalization and Inequality.
Helpman has also studied theIsraeli economy and has been an active participant in Israeli policy debates. He was a member of the advisory board of theBank of Israel, the Council for National Planning, and the National Council for Research and Development. In addition, he was a member of the board of directors ofBank Hapoalim.
Helpman has served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals, and served as Co-Editor of theJournal of International Economics and theQuarterly Journal of Economics and as Editor of theEuropean Economic Review. He is a Fellow of theEconometric Society and was a member of its council. He delivered major invited lectures, such as the Frank Graham Memorial Lecture atPrinceton University, the Schumpeter Lecture of theEuropean Economic Association, of which he is also a fellow,[6] the Walras-Bowley and Frisch Lectures of the Econometric Society and the Ohlin Lectures at theStockholm School of Economics. He is a member of the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities, a Foreign Honorary Member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Corresponding Fellow of theBritish Academy, a member of theEuropean Academy of Sciences and Arts and a Distinguished Fellow of theAmerican Economic Association. He was President of the Israeli Economic Association and President of the Econometric Society. He was awarded Honorary Doctorates by theCatholic University of Louvain and theUniversity of Warsaw. From 2004 to 2014 he was director of the Program on Institutions, Organizations and Growth at theCanadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR). He received the Mahalanobis Memorial Medal, the Bernhard Harms Prize, the Rothschild Prize, theEMET Prize, theNemmers Prize, theOnassis Prize, theBBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, the Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize, and theIsrael Prize.[1]
