Alan Krueger: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|American economist (1960–2019)}}

| name = Alan Krueger

| image = 20170817 AlanKrueger FacultyPortrait CF 0011 (cropped).jpg

| office = 27th Chair of the [[Council of Economic Advisers]]

| president = [[Barack Obama]]

| term_start = November 7, 2011

| term_end = August 2, 2013

| predecessor = [[Austan Goolsbee]]

| successor = [[Jason Furman]]

| office1 = [[Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy]]

| president1 = [[Barack Obama]]

| term_start1 = May 7, 2009

| term_end1 = October 16, 2010

| predecessor1 = [[Phillip Swagel]]

| successor1 = [[Janice Eberly]]

|birth_date birth_name = {{birthAlan Bennett date|1960|9|17}}Krueger

| birth_place = [[Livingston, New Jersey]], U.S.

|party death_place = [[DemocraticPrinceton, PartyNew (United States)|DemocraticJersey]], U.S.

|spouse party = Lisa[[Democratic Party (United SimonStates)|Democratic]]

|children spouse = 2Lisa Simon

| education = [[Cornell University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br />{{nowrap|[[Harvard University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]], [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])}}

| module = {{Infobox economist

'''Alan Bennett Krueger''' (September 17, 1960 – March 16, 2019) was an American [[economist]] who was the [[James Madison]] Professor of Political Economy at [[Princeton University]] and Research Associate at the [[National Bureau of Economic Research]]. He served as [[Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy]], nominated by President [[Barack Obama]], from May 2009 to October 2010, when he returned to Princeton. He was nominated in 2011 by Obama as chair of the White House [[Council of Economic Advisers]], and served in that office from November 2011 to August 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/author/alan-krueger|title=Alan Krueger|date=November 18, 2011 |publisher=The White House President Barack Obama|accessdateaccess-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> He was among the 50 highest ranked economists in the world according to [[Research Papers in Economics]].

Krueger grew up in a [[American Jews|Jewish]] family<ref>[http://blogs.forward.com/forward-thinking/172080/meet-the-four-jews-shaping-the-us-economy/ The Jewish Daily Forward: "Meet the Four Jews Shaping the U.S. Economy" By Nathan Guttman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322090643/http://blogs.forward.com/forward-thinking/172080/meet-the-four-jews-shaping-the-us-economy/ |date=March 22, 2015 }} February 28, 2013</ref> in [[Livingston, New Jersey]], and graduated from [[Livingston High School (New Jersey)|Livingston High School]] in 1979.<ref>Kwoh, Leslie. [http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2011/08/obama_krueger_chair_economic.html "Obama to tap Princeton's Alan Krueger to fill key economic post"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', August 29, 2011. Accessed August 29, 2011. "Krueger, 50, a Livingston native, returned to academia a year ago after serving for two years as assistant treasury secretary for economic policy to the Obama administration."</ref>

Krueger received his [[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]] from the [[Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations]] (with honors), and he received his [[Master of Arts|A.M.A.]] and [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] in [[Economics]] from [[Harvard University]] in 1985 and 1987, respectively.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://krueger.princeton.edu/home|title=Alan B. Krueger|website=Krueger.princeton.edu|publisher=Princeton University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190318204341/https://krueger.princeton.edu/home|archive-date=March 18, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=March 18, 2019|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Krueger compared restaurant jobs in New Jersey, which raised its minimum wage, to restaurant jobs in Pennsylvania, which did not, and found that restaurant employment in New Jersey increased, while it decreased in Pennsylvania.<ref name="Card and Krueger">{{cite journal |first1=David |last1=Card |first2=Alan B. |last2=Krueger |year=1994 |title=Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania |journal=American Economic Review |volume=84 |issue=4 |pages=772–793 |jstor=2118030 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/22/weekinreview/conversations-david-card-alan-krueger-two-economists-catch-clinton-s-eye-bucking.html|title=Conversations/David Card and Alan Krueger; Two Economists Catch Clinton's Eye By Bucking the Common Wisdom|first=Sylvia|last=Nasar|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 22, 1993|accessdateaccess-date=August 29, 2011}}</ref> The results reinvigorated the academic debate on the employment effects of minimum wages and spawned a large literature.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Schmitt|first1=John|title=Why Does the Minimum Wage Have No Discernible Effect on Employment?|url=https://cepr.net/documents/publications/min-wage-2013-02.pdf|website=cepr.net/|publisher=Centre for Economic and Policy Research|accessdateaccess-date=February 5, 2016}}</ref>

{{QuoteBlockquote|text=I would emphasize that I do not envision investment in human capital development as the sole component of a program to address the adverse consequences of income inequality. It is part of the solution, but not the whole solution. In principle, the optimal governmental policy regarding income inequality would employ multiple instruments, up to the point at which the social benefit per additional dollar of cost of each instrument is equal across all instruments.}}

In his book, ''What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism'' (2007), he wrote that in contrast to the assumption that terrorists come from impoverished, uneducated environments, terrorists often come from middle-class, college-educated backgrounds.<ref>{{Harvnb|Krueger|2007|p=77}}</ref><ref>{{cite webmagazine|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/62904/lawrence-d-freedman/the-history-of-terrorism-from-antiquity-to-al-qaeda-denial-of-sa|title=Review: What Makes a Terrorist|first=Lawrence D.|last=Freedman|date=November–December 2007|accessdateaccess-date=August 29, 2011|workmagazine=[[Foreign Affairs]]}}</ref>

In 1994–95, he served as Chief Economist at the [[United States Department of Labor]]. He received the Kershaw Prize, Mahalanobis Prize, and [[IZA Prize in Labor Economics|IZA Prize]] (with [[David Card]]), and was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Society of Labor Economists, Econometric Society and American Academy of Political and Social Science.<ref name=":0" /> He was a member of the Executive and Supervisory Committee (ESC) of [[CERGE-EI]], an academic institution located in [[Prague]], [[Czech Republic]].<ref>{{cite web|accessdateaccess-date = March 18, 2019| url= http://www.cerge-ei.cz/people/executive-and-supervisory-committee | title = Executive and Supervisory Committee}}</ref>

On March 7, 2009, he was nominated by President [[Barack Obama]] to be [[Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29579093/ns/politics-white_house/t/obama-nominates-key-treasury-posts/|title=Obama nominates 3 to key Treasury posts|website=NBCNews.com|date=March 8, 2009|agency=AP}}</ref> In October 2010, he announced his resignation from the Treasury Department, to return to Princeton University.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Daily Princetonian]]|first=Ameena|last=Schelling|date=October 16, 2010|url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2010/10/16/26607/|accessdateaccess-date=August 29, 2011|title=Krueger will depart Treasury to retain tenure|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018005841/http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2010/10/16/26607/|archive-date=October 18, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On August 29, 2011, he was nominated by Obama to be chair of the White House [[Council of Economic Advisers]],<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14709715| title= Obama nominates Alan Krueger as his new chief economist| work= BBC News| date= August 29, 2011| accessdate=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/business/2011/08/obama_krueger_chair_economic.html|title=Obama to tap Princeton's Alan Krueger to fill key economic post|first=Leslie|last=Kwoh|date=August 29, 2011|website=nj.com}}</ref> and on November 3, 2011, the Senate unanimously confirmed his nomination.<ref>157 ''[[Congressional Record]]'' S7141 (November 3, 2011).</ref>

He also published several books on issues related to education, labor markets and income distribution.<ref name=":2" /> He was also known for his work on the [[Environmental Kuznets Curvecurve]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aei.org/publication/the-china-syndrome-and-the-environmental-kuznets-curve/ |title=The China Syndrome and the Environmental Kuznets Curve |last=Hayward |first=Steven F. |authorlinkauthor-link=Steven F. Hayward |date=2005-12-21 |website=[[American Enterprise Institute]] |language=en-US |access-date=2019-03-19}}</ref> Between 2000 and 2006 he wrote for ''[[The New York Times]]'' Economic Scene column.<ref>{{cite news |title= Alan B. Krueger |url= http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/k/alan_b_krueger/index.html |newspaper= New York Times}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

Krueger was married to Lisa Simon and had two children.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.startribune.com/nation/128645428.html?refer=y|work=[[Star Tribune]]|title=Alan Krueger|date=August 29, 2011|accessdateaccess-date=November 24, 2017}}</ref> His interests included rock music and tennis.<ref>https://ritholtz.com/2019/03/rip-alan-krueger/</ref>

Krueger was found dead at his home in [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]] on March 16, 2019.<ref name=":1" /> His family stated the cause of death was [[suicide]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/03/18/alan-krueger-prominent-princeton-economist-passes-away|title=Alan Krueger, prominent Princeton economist, passes away|website=Princeton University|language=en|access-date=March 18, 2019}}</ref> In a statement, former President Obama declared: "Alan was someone who was deeper than numbers on a screen and charts on a page," adding, "He saw economic policy not as a matter of abstract theories, but as a way to make people’speople's lives better."<ref>[https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/family-says-obamas-top-economic-adviser-killed-himself Family says Obama's top economic adviser killed himself] Joseph Lawler, ''[[Washington Examiner]]'', March 18, 2019</ref> His death was commemorated by ''[[The Economist]]'' with a full-page obituary running in their [[The Economist#Features|''Free Exchange'']] column.<ref>{{Cite news|last=The Economist|first=|url=https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2019/03/21/alan-krueger-natural-talent|title=Alan Krueger, natural talent|date=March 21, 2019|worknewspaper=The Economist|access-date=March 21, 2019|url-status=live|issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

*{{cite book|last1=Heckman|first1=James J.|ref=harv|authorlink1author-link1=James Heckman|last2=Krueger|first2=Alan B.|title=Inequality in America: What Role for Human Capital Policies?|year=2003|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=0-262-08328-0}}

*{{Cite book|title=What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism|last=Krueger|first=Alan B.|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-691-13438-3|location=Princeton|ref=harv|url=https://archive.org/details/whatmakesterrori00krue}}

*{{C-SPAN|Alan Krueger38943}}

[[Category:Suicide2019 in 2019suicides]]