Wassily Leontief

Wassily Leontief (August 5, 1906 - February 5, 1999), born at St. Petersburg, Russia), was an economist notable for his research on how changes in one economic sector may have an effect on other sectors. Leontief won Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 1973.

Biography

Early Life

Wassily Leontief, the son of Wassily W. Leontief (professor of Economics) and Eugenia, entered the University of Leningrad in present day St. Petersburg in 1921. He earned his Learned Economist degree (equivalent to Master of Arts) in 1925 at the age of 19.

Related Topics:
Economics - University of Leningrad - St. Petersburg - 1921 - Master of Arts - 1925

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Opposition to Communism

He was arrested several times because of his opposition to Communism.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1925 he was allowed to leave the USSR, so he continued his studies at the University of Berlin (http://www.hu-berlin.de/) and in 1929 he earned a Ph.D. degree in Economics with a specialty in Input-Output Analysis and Economics.

Related Topics:
1925 - USSR - University of Berlin - 1929 - Economics

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Early Professional Life

From 1927 to 1930 he worked at the Institute for World Economics of the University of Kiel (http://www.uni-kiel.de/). There he researched the derivation of statistical demand and supply curves. In 1929 he travelled to China to assist the Ministry of Railroads as an advisor.

Related Topics:
1927 - 1930 - University of Kiel - 1929 - China - Ministry of Railroads

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1931 he went to the USA, and was employed by the National Bureau of Economic Research (http://www.nber.org/).

Related Topics:
1931 - USA - National Bureau of Economic Research

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marriage and Affiliation with Harvard

In 1932 Leontief married the poet Estelle Marks. Their only child, Svetlana Leontief Alpers, was born in 1936.

Related Topics:
1932 - Estelle Marks - Svetlana Leontief Alpers

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harvard University (http://www.harvard.edu/) employed him in the same year (1932) in its Department of Economics (http://www.economics.harvard.edu/), and in 1946 he became a professor of Economics.

Related Topics:
Harvard University - 1946 - Professor - Economics

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Around 1949, Leontief used the primitive computer systems available at the time at Harvard to model data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to divide the U.S. economy into 500 sectors. Leontief modeled each sector with a linear equation based on the data and used the computer, the Harvard Mark II, to solve the system, one of the first significant uses of computers for mathematical modeling. {{inote|ref:Lay, p.1}}

Related Topics:
1949 - Harvard Mark II

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Leontief set up the Harvard Economic Research Project in 1948 and remained its director until 1973. Starting in 1965 he chaired the Harvard Society of Fellows.

Related Topics:
Harvard Economic Research Project - 1948 - 1973 - 1965 - Harvard Society of Fellows

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Affiliation with New York University

In 1975 Leontief joined New York University (http://www.nyu.edu/) and founded and directed the Center for Economic Analysis.

Related Topics:
1975 - New York University

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Death

Leontief died in New York City, New York, USA, on Friday, February 5, 1999 at the age of 93.

Related Topics:
New York City - New York - USA - Friday - February 5 - 1999

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~