Harvey J. Levin
Encyclopedia
Harvey Joshua Levin was an American
economist. He was University Research Professor in the Department of Economics at Hofstra University
(1989–92), Augustus B. Weller Professor of Economics at Hofstra (1964–89), and Founder and Director of its Public Policy Workshop (1975–92). He was also a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Policy Research.
Dr. Levin is generally considered the first economist to propose the auctioning of broadcast frequencies as a means of allocating the airwaves as a natural resource. His work anticipated the evolution of television, satellites, cellular telephones, electronic remote boxes and wireless internet, and their demands on increasingly congested airwaves.
He consulted for the President's Office of Telecommunications Management, the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC), the FCC's Public Advisory Committee on the World Administrative Radio Conferences (WARC88), the Office of Technology Assessment
of the U.S. Congress, the General Accounting Office, the Committee for Economic Development
, the Department of Justice
/Antitrust Division, and the Federal Trade Commission
/Bureau of Economics.
, or electromagnetic spectrum
, and its overuse and congestion. According to his colleagues, he was several decades ahead of his time in addressing the economic ramifications of the radio spectrum
, long before others were concerned with the airwaves as a resource.
Focusing on its political ramifications, Dr. Levin’s work is also considered by many economists to be the first to illustrate the economic necessity and benefits of equitable, global allocation of the airwaves as a limited resource, and diversification of its ownership. He continued to penetrate the frontiers of communications economics even after it evolved into a highly pertinent field -- an evolution due, in large part, to his own contributions. His colleagues in the field even complained that they were unable to complete the writing of a book he had started at the time of his death because his work was "too advanced" and far-reaching.
Although he was a stickler for scientific evidence and economic viability, he also viewed economics as an art, and saw it as a vehicle for facilitating social progress. Among his proposals was a pricing mechanism that, in effect, ensured that latecomer users and emerging, underdeveloped countries would not be deprived of their use of the airwaves by the world powers or monopolies controlling the market. One of his last projects involved getting countries with satellites in orbit above less-industrialized nations to pay a kind of rent.
In pioneering the economics of the airwaves and space satellites by proposing market-based approaches to utilizing the spectrum
, Dr. Levin was often met with skepticism and dismissal by government and industry officials – even, initially, disbelief that the airwaves were a resource at all. It prompted his creation of the phrase "The Invisible Resource", also the name of his 1971 book, which revolutionized the field.
Harvey J. Levin testifying in the 1970s
(FCC) began implementing Dr. Levin's long controversial proposals by licensing and auctioning off portions of the radio spectrum, or broadcast frequencies, culminating in the U.S. Telecommunications Act of 1996
. In 1997, partially inspired by Dr. Levin's research, the U.S. Congress recommended a voucher program for allocating the use of outer space for transportation and satellites, in its appropriations bill for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
His field of work continues to be developed by such colleagues as Molly Macauley, Eli Noam
and Thomas Hazlett.
His legacy lives on in his numerous publications, in U.S. communications policy, in his collections of personal papers at Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
(CITI), Hofstra University
Archives and Research Libraries Information Network, and in the work of scholars and think tank groups like CITI
and Resources for the Future
.
(1964–89), Dr. Levin's research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation
(1984–88, 1970–78), the Russell Sage Foundation
(1978–79), and Resources for the Future
(1980–82, 1964–69).
He was a Visiting Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
, Georgetown University
, 1982–83, and a Visiting Scholar, Stanford University
(Department of Economics/National Bureau of Economic Research
, Hoover Institute, Center for Educational Research at Stanford), Summers 1982-91.
He was also a Liberal Arts (Carnegie) Fellow in Law and Economics at the Harvard Law School
, 1963–64, and a Brookings
National Research Professor in Economics, 1959-60.
He also published numerous scholarly papers on public policies towards television broadcasting, space satellites and the radio spectrum resource, and participated frequently in conference panels on the same, for the American Economics Association, the Annenberg Washington Program, the Atlantic Economic Society, the International Institute of Communications, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
, the International Communications Association, the National Academy of Engineering
, the National Academy of Sciences
, the National Research Council
, the Pacific Telecommunications Council, the Annual Telecommunications Policy Research Conferences, and the Western Economic Association International.
of Washington, D.C., an association of persons deemed to "have done meritorious original work in science, literature, or the arts, or... recognized as distinguished in a learned profession or in public service".
That year, he also was invited to place his papers in the Archive of Contemporary History at the University of Wyoming
, devoted to "the history and development... of individuals who have played a prominent role in the twentieth century’s social, political, legal and economic scene..."
Scholars and Harvard Law School
Association of New York City (1991–92).
He was also civically active with such organizations as the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee
, the National Citizens Committee for Broadcasting, the Committee To Protect Journalists, the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives
, and the Long Island Coalition for Fair Broadcasting Honorary Advisory Board.
He worked with public figures ranging from Eleanor Roosevelt
and Fred Friendly to George McGovern
, and contributed opinion pieces to various journals including The New York Times
and The Nation
. He delivered numerous, community presentations dealing with censorship and legislation in Congress that impacted First Amendment rights.
as an undergraduate in 1940 at the age of sixteen, after skipping two grades at Newton High School in Queens, New York. However, his family found it unaffordable and considered him too young for such a large institution. He partially worked his way through high school and college as a jazz pianist/arranger and later attended Harvard Law School
as a Carnegie Fellow in Law and Economics.
Originally planning to pursue English literature, he became fluent in seven other languages, including Japanese, by his college years. While an undergraduate student, he served as a commentator and disc jockey for the radio station of Hamilton College.
In World War II
, he served as a Research Analyst and Foreign Language Officer in the Office of Strategic Services
(later reorganized as the Central Intelligence Agency
) in Washington, D.C. and Japan, drawing largely on his Japanese language skills.
Harvey J. Levin in the U.S. Office of Strategic Services in 1944
----
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
economist. He was University Research Professor in the Department of Economics at Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
(1989–92), Augustus B. Weller Professor of Economics at Hofstra (1964–89), and Founder and Director of its Public Policy Workshop (1975–92). He was also a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Policy Research.
Dr. Levin is generally considered the first economist to propose the auctioning of broadcast frequencies as a means of allocating the airwaves as a natural resource. His work anticipated the evolution of television, satellites, cellular telephones, electronic remote boxes and wireless internet, and their demands on increasingly congested airwaves.
He consulted for the President's Office of Telecommunications Management, the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC), the FCC's Public Advisory Committee on the World Administrative Radio Conferences (WARC88), the Office of Technology Assessment
Office of Technology Assessment
The Office of Technology Assessment was an office of the United States Congress from 1972 to 1995. OTA's purpose was to provide Congressional members and committees with objective and authoritative analysis of the complex scientific and technical issues of the late 20th century, i.e. technology...
of the U.S. Congress, the General Accounting Office, the Committee for Economic Development
Committee for Economic Development
The Committee for Economic Development is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan think tank based in Washington, DC. Its membership consists of some 200 senior corporate executives and university leaders...
, the Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
/Antitrust Division, and the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
/Bureau of Economics.
History
For forty years spanning five decades, Dr. Levin researched, published, and proposed innovative economic and regulatory solutions that anticipated – and later addressed – the problems of competing rights and access to the airwavesRadio waves
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light. Radio waves have frequencies from 300 GHz to as low as 3 kHz, and corresponding wavelengths from 1 millimeter to 100 kilometers. Like all other electromagnetic waves,...
, or electromagnetic spectrum
Electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object....
, and its overuse and congestion. According to his colleagues, he was several decades ahead of his time in addressing the economic ramifications of the radio spectrum
Radio spectrum
Radio spectrum refers to the part of the electromagnetic spectrum corresponding to radio frequencies – that is, frequencies lower than around 300 GHz ....
, long before others were concerned with the airwaves as a resource.
Focusing on its political ramifications, Dr. Levin’s work is also considered by many economists to be the first to illustrate the economic necessity and benefits of equitable, global allocation of the airwaves as a limited resource, and diversification of its ownership. He continued to penetrate the frontiers of communications economics even after it evolved into a highly pertinent field -- an evolution due, in large part, to his own contributions. His colleagues in the field even complained that they were unable to complete the writing of a book he had started at the time of his death because his work was "too advanced" and far-reaching.
Although he was a stickler for scientific evidence and economic viability, he also viewed economics as an art, and saw it as a vehicle for facilitating social progress. Among his proposals was a pricing mechanism that, in effect, ensured that latecomer users and emerging, underdeveloped countries would not be deprived of their use of the airwaves by the world powers or monopolies controlling the market. One of his last projects involved getting countries with satellites in orbit above less-industrialized nations to pay a kind of rent.
In pioneering the economics of the airwaves and space satellites by proposing market-based approaches to utilizing the spectrum
Electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object....
, Dr. Levin was often met with skepticism and dismissal by government and industry officials – even, initially, disbelief that the airwaves were a resource at all. It prompted his creation of the phrase "The Invisible Resource", also the name of his 1971 book, which revolutionized the field.
Harvey J. Levin testifying in the 1970s
Legacy
Three years after his death, in 1995, the Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) began implementing Dr. Levin's long controversial proposals by licensing and auctioning off portions of the radio spectrum, or broadcast frequencies, culminating in the U.S. Telecommunications Act of 1996
Telecommunications Act of 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, amending the Communications Act of 1934. This Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, was a major stepping stone towards the future of telecommunications, since this was the...
. In 1997, partially inspired by Dr. Levin's research, the U.S. Congress recommended a voucher program for allocating the use of outer space for transportation and satellites, in its appropriations bill for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
His field of work continues to be developed by such colleagues as Molly Macauley, Eli Noam
Eli Noam
Eli M. Noam is a professor of Finance and Economics at the Columbia Business School. He has written over 400 articles and has authored, edited, and co-edited about 25 books. Noam is married to Nadine Strossen, the former National President of ACLU.-Education:Noam attended Harvard University, where...
and Thomas Hazlett.
His legacy lives on in his numerous publications, in U.S. communications policy, in his collections of personal papers at Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
The Columbia Institute for Tele-Information is one of several research centers for Columbia Business School, focusing on strategy, management, and policy issues in telecommunications, computing, and electronic mass media...
(CITI), Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
Archives and Research Libraries Information Network, and in the work of scholars and think tank groups like CITI
Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
The Columbia Institute for Tele-Information is one of several research centers for Columbia Business School, focusing on strategy, management, and policy issues in telecommunications, computing, and electronic mass media...
and Resources for the Future
Resources for the Future
Resources for the Future is a nonprofit organization that conducts independent research into environmental, energy, and natural resource issues, primarily via economics and other social sciences. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., RFF performs research around the world...
.
Sponsorship
Along with the Augustus B. Weller Chair in Economics at Hofstra UniversityHofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
(1964–89), Dr. Levin's research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
(1984–88, 1970–78), the Russell Sage Foundation
Russell Sage Foundation
The Russell Sage Foundation is the principal American foundation devoted exclusively to research in the social sciences. Founded in 1907 and headquartered in New York City, the foundation is a research center, a funding source for studies by scholars at other institutions, and a key member of the...
(1978–79), and Resources for the Future
Resources for the Future
Resources for the Future is a nonprofit organization that conducts independent research into environmental, energy, and natural resource issues, primarily via economics and other social sciences. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., RFF performs research around the world...
(1980–82, 1964–69).
He was a Visiting Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...
, Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, 1982–83, and a Visiting Scholar, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
(Department of Economics/National Bureau of Economic Research
National Bureau of Economic Research
The National Bureau of Economic Research is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic community." The NBER is well known for providing start and end...
, Hoover Institute, Center for Educational Research at Stanford), Summers 1982-91.
He was also a Liberal Arts (Carnegie) Fellow in Law and Economics at the Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, 1963–64, and a Brookings
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
National Research Professor in Economics, 1959-60.
On September 23, 1964, Hofstra University's Board of Trustees awarded the Augustus B. Weller Chair in Economics (Long Island's first fully endowed professorial chair) to Harvey J. Levin, then chairman of the university’s Economics Department, who held it for the next twenty-five years. The Chair supported Levin's research that served as the basis for numerous articles and presentations, as well as his books The Invisible Resource – Use and Regulation of the Radio Spectrum (1971) and Fact and Fancy in Television Regulation – An Economic Study of Policy Alternatives (1980), and initial groundwork for the follow-up book Harvesting the Invisible Resource – Global Spectrum Management for Balanced Information Flows (originally scheduled for publication in 1994.) Pictured from left to right: Meadow Brook National Bank Chairman and Hofstra Trustee Augustus B. Weller, Harvey J. Levin, and Hofstra President Clifford Lord.
Publications
Among other studies, Dr. Levin was author of Fact and Fancy in Television Regulation – An Economic Study of Policy Alternatives (Russell Sage Foundation and Basic Books, Inc., 1980), The Invisible Resource – Use and Regulation of the Radio Spectrum (Johns Hopkins Press, 1971), Broadcast Regulation and Joint Ownership of Media (New York University Press, 1960), and Business Organization and Public Policy (Holt-Rinehart, 1958), a collection of essays edited with commentary. At the time of his death, he was at work on a subsequent book, Harvesting the Invisible Resource – Global Spectrum Management for Balanced Information Flows, which was to be published by Oxford University Press.He also published numerous scholarly papers on public policies towards television broadcasting, space satellites and the radio spectrum resource, and participated frequently in conference panels on the same, for the American Economics Association, the Annenberg Washington Program, the Atlantic Economic Society, the International Institute of Communications, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
, the International Communications Association, the National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
, the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, the National Research Council
United States National Research Council
The National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academies, carrying out most of the studies done in their names.The National Academies include:* National Academy of Sciences...
, the Pacific Telecommunications Council, the Annual Telecommunications Policy Research Conferences, and the Western Economic Association International.
Quotes on Levin
"In 1971 Resources for the Future funded and published a book calling for the government to create a market for radio spectrum licenses, rather than just giving them away. After all, said the author, Harvey J. Levin, the airwaves are a scarce resource, and they are no less susceptible than rivers or roads to overuse or congestion. Because the Federal Communications Commission was allocating spectrum space bureaucratically, incumbent broadcasters had no reasons to economize or innovate, while newcomers were often locked out. Levin, an economist, proposed ‘a regulated market-type system with prices.’ And the government took Levin’s advice – in the mid-1990s, when the FCC finally began auctioning off broadcast frequencies. Well, it only took a generation."
– Jonathan Rauch, National Journal
"In the world of economists, his ideas were not radical, but in the world that would need to use them, they were... Levin concluded that market-like mechanisms, rather than administrative hearings, would better allocate the increasingly crowded electromagnetic spectrum, or airwaves, to their myriad uses (ranging from radio, TV, and everyday telecommunications to wildlife tracking, astronomy, garage door openers, and national defense). Levin’s research paved the way for a change of heart at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission [in auctioning] portions of the spectrum. By 1997, auctions had brought in more than $22 billion and, more important, according to the Economic Report of the President for that year, the auctions got spectrum ‘quickly into the hands of service providers’ and ‘rapidly promoted the use of innovative, advanced telecommunications technologies throughout the country’… In 1997, the U.S. Congress included a demonstration program for space transportation vouchers in its appropriations bill for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Much of the inspiration… was inspired by Levin’s research. The field of space economics and policy has grown from one or two economists during Levin’s career to include scholars at Cal Tech, MIT, the Wharton School, and other institutions."
– Molly K. Macauley, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future
"The classic overview of spectrum technology, economics, and public policy is Harvey J. Levin['s] The Invisible Resource... He was truly several decades ahead of his time... In some areas, people still haven't caught up to him. For example, I have yet to find anybody else provide a more thoughtful spectrum leasing analysis – a very timely topic here in D.C."
– J. H. Snider, Senior Research Fellow, New America Foundation
"He was... universally well thought of... The FCC sponsored a conference on spectrum called ‘The Invisible Resource.’ Harvey was a featured speaker… It was the 30th of April, 1991 – one year to the day he died… He had truly been one of the pioneers in broadcast regulation, and we both liked to think that I was following in his footsteps."
– Thomas W. Hazlett, Chief Economist, Federal Communications Commission (1992)
"He was a notable scholar... in ways that were an example for all of us: his commitment and all of the other things that went with it, his constant peregrinations in search of bringing his message to people all over this country and the rest of the world… With all his ways and his accomplishments, Harvey, above all, was a true original, and he was an original in a time that breeds all too many hollow men, if not stuffed men."
– John E. Ullmann, Professor of Management and Quantitative Methods, Hofstra University School of Business
"In his professional, civic and personal life, he strived to improve the rights, opportunities, facilities and technologies of the disadvantaged, in America as well as in his own backyard, and in third world countries. With zeal, optimism, humor and irony, he proposed innovative policies regarding orbit spectrum assignments and broadcast frequency auctions to skeptical and dismissing industry officials. In the face of industry and government laissez faire, he remained the true believer. His proposals were vindicated four years after his death with the passage of the U.S. Telecommunications Act – a ‘promised land’ he'd seen but didn't live to experience."
– Adam R. Levin
Honors
In 1986, Dr. Levin was elected to membership in the Cosmos ClubCosmos Club
The Cosmos Club is a private social club in Washington, D.C., founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878. In addition to Powell, original members included Clarence Edward Dutton, Henry Smith Pritchett, William Harkness, and John Shaw Billings. Among its stated goals is "The advancement of its members in...
of Washington, D.C., an association of persons deemed to "have done meritorious original work in science, literature, or the arts, or... recognized as distinguished in a learned profession or in public service".
That year, he also was invited to place his papers in the Archive of Contemporary History at the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
, devoted to "the history and development... of individuals who have played a prominent role in the twentieth century’s social, political, legal and economic scene..."
Other affiliations and activism
Dr. Levin was a member of the Editorial Board of Telecommunications Policy (1989–92), and the Society of ColumbiaColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Scholars and Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
Association of New York City (1991–92).
He was also civically active with such organizations as the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee
National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee
The National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee was an organization formed in 1951 to "to reestablish the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and The Bill of Rights", and was called the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee until 1968...
, the National Citizens Committee for Broadcasting, the Committee To Protect Journalists, the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives
Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives
Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives is a Non-profit organization founded in 1985 to provide educational programs on peace and national security issues and to promote dialogue on the role and responsibility of citizens in determining national priorities and policies. The organization is...
, and the Long Island Coalition for Fair Broadcasting Honorary Advisory Board.
He worked with public figures ranging from Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
and Fred Friendly to George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
, and contributed opinion pieces to various journals including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
. He delivered numerous, community presentations dealing with censorship and legislation in Congress that impacted First Amendment rights.
Beginnings
Growing up in an uneducated family of Jewish-Russian descent, Dr. Levin was accepted by Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
as an undergraduate in 1940 at the age of sixteen, after skipping two grades at Newton High School in Queens, New York. However, his family found it unaffordable and considered him too young for such a large institution. He partially worked his way through high school and college as a jazz pianist/arranger and later attended Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
as a Carnegie Fellow in Law and Economics.
Originally planning to pursue English literature, he became fluent in seven other languages, including Japanese, by his college years. While an undergraduate student, he served as a commentator and disc jockey for the radio station of Hamilton College.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served as a Research Analyst and Foreign Language Officer in the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(later reorganized as the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
) in Washington, D.C. and Japan, drawing largely on his Japanese language skills.
Harvey J. Levin in the U.S. Office of Strategic Services in 1944
External links
- Official Website: Harvey J. Levin – Pioneering the Economics of the Airwaves
- Papers and publications by Harvey J. Levin
- The Invisible Resource – Use and Regulation of the Radio Spectrum
- Professional bio and summary of work
- Harvey J. Levin: First Known Communications Economist
- Augustus B. Weller Chair in Economics: Long Island's First Research Chair Anticipated Information Age
- Resources, "RFF Redux: Revisiting The Invisible Resource – Use and Regulation of the Radio Spectrum"
- Resources, "Reflections," Molly K. Macauley
- Hofstra University Archives Faculty Collection: Harvey J. Levin
- Financial Times, New Technology Policy Forum
- New America Foundation: Spectrum Policy
- Resources for the Future: Space Policy
- Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
----
The text of this page is available for modification and reuse under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License and the GNU Free Documentation License (unversioned, with no invariant sections, front-cover texts, or back-cover texts).