Martin Weitzman
Encyclopedia
Martin Lawrence "Marty" Weitzman (born April 1, 1942, in New York City
) is a well known-economist and a Professor of Economics at Harvard University
. He is among the most influential economists in the world according to IDEAS/RePEc
. His current research is focused on environmental economics
, specifically climate change
and the economics of catastrophes.
and Physics
from Swarthmore College
in 1963. He went on to receive an M.S. in Statistics
and Operations Research from Stanford University
in 1964, and then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology
where he received a Ph.D.
in Economics in 1967.
Much of Weitzman's current research is focused on climate change. Traditional cost-benefit analysis of climate change looks at the costs of reducing global warming
(the cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions) versus the benefits (potentially stopping or slowing climate change). However, in most analysises, the damages that would stem from dramatic climate change are not taken into consideration. Weitzman has added dramatic climate change
to the cost-benefit analysis
to show that immediate measures must be taken in regards to climate change regulation.
Weitzman's past research was focused on fixed versus profit sharing wages and their effect on unemployment. He proposed that when firms use profit sharing wages, meaning employees receive higher wages when a company is doing well, firms have lower rates of unemployment and do better during recessions.
Another topic of research that Weitzman is well known for is his study of price versus quantity controls. Weitzman proposed a theory that when faced with uncertainty the relative slopes of the marginal benefits versus the marginal costs must be examined in order to determine which type of control will be most effective. For example, in the case of pollution, the relative slopes of marginal costs and marginal damages must be examined (the marginal benefits are the avoidance of the marginal damages). His research showed that if the slope of marginal costs is steeper, price controls are more effective and if the relative slope of marginal damages is steeper, then quantity controls are more effective.
Income, Wealth, and the Maximum Principal is a book geared towards advanced economic students particularly those who want to be able to formulate and solve complex allocation problems and who are interested in the relationship between income accounting and wealth or welfare.
. Three years later Martin was promoted to be an Associate Professor and he remained in this position until 1972; at this time he joined the faculty at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1972 still as an Associate Professor. In 1974, Weitzman became a Professor at MIT, where he taught until 1989. From 1986- 1989, Weitzman was recognized as a Mitsui Professor at MIT. In 1989, Martin Weitzman became an Ernest E. Monrad Professor of Economics at Harvard University and has remained in this position for the last 18 years. He currently teaches two graduate courses:
Ec 2680 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics & Ec 2690 Environmental Economics and Policy Seminar.
He also serves as Associate Editor of the following publications: Journal of Comparative Economics, Economic Letters, Journal of Japanese and International Economies, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
of Enduring Quality.”
Following his arrest he was stripped of his endowed chair at Harvard University.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) is a well known-economist and a Professor of Economics at Harvard University
Harvard 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...
. He is among the most influential economists in the world according to IDEAS/RePEc
Řepeč
Řepeč is a village and municipality in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 267 ....
. His current research is focused on environmental economics
Environmental economics
Environmental economics is a subfield of economics concerned with environmental issues. Quoting from the National Bureau of Economic Research Environmental Economics program:...
, specifically climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and the economics of catastrophes.
Personal
Weitzman received a B.A. in MathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
in 1963. He went on to receive an M.S. in Statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
and Operations Research from 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...
in 1964, and then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
where he received a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Economics in 1967.
Research
Weitzman's research has covered a wide range of topics including Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Green Accounting, Economics of Biodiversity, Economics of Environmental Regulation, Economics of Climate Change, Discounting, Comparative Economic Systems, Economics of Profit Sharing, Economic Planning, and Microfoundations of Macro Theory.Much of Weitzman's current research is focused on climate change. Traditional cost-benefit analysis of climate change looks at the costs of reducing global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
(the cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions) versus the benefits (potentially stopping or slowing climate change). However, in most analysises, the damages that would stem from dramatic climate change are not taken into consideration. Weitzman has added dramatic climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
to the cost-benefit analysis
Cost-benefit analysis
Cost–benefit analysis , sometimes called benefit–cost analysis , is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project for two purposes: to determine if it is a sound investment , to see how it compares with alternate projects...
to show that immediate measures must be taken in regards to climate change regulation.
Weitzman's past research was focused on fixed versus profit sharing wages and their effect on unemployment. He proposed that when firms use profit sharing wages, meaning employees receive higher wages when a company is doing well, firms have lower rates of unemployment and do better during recessions.
Another topic of research that Weitzman is well known for is his study of price versus quantity controls. Weitzman proposed a theory that when faced with uncertainty the relative slopes of the marginal benefits versus the marginal costs must be examined in order to determine which type of control will be most effective. For example, in the case of pollution, the relative slopes of marginal costs and marginal damages must be examined (the marginal benefits are the avoidance of the marginal damages). His research showed that if the slope of marginal costs is steeper, price controls are more effective and if the relative slope of marginal damages is steeper, then quantity controls are more effective.
Books
Weitzman has written two books: The Share Economy: Conquering Stagflation and Income, Wealth, and the Maximum Principal. In The Share Economy: Conquering Stagflation, Weitzman proposes that a main cause of Stagflation is paying workers a fixed wage, regardless of how the company is performing. He introduces an alternate labor payment system as a way of combating stagflation.Income, Wealth, and the Maximum Principal is a book geared towards advanced economic students particularly those who want to be able to formulate and solve complex allocation problems and who are interested in the relationship between income accounting and wealth or welfare.
Teaching
Weitzman began his teaching career in 1967 as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. Three years later Martin was promoted to be an Associate Professor and he remained in this position until 1972; at this time he joined the faculty at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1972 still as an Associate Professor. In 1974, Weitzman became a Professor at MIT, where he taught until 1989. From 1986- 1989, Weitzman was recognized as a Mitsui Professor at MIT. In 1989, Martin Weitzman became an Ernest E. Monrad Professor of Economics at Harvard University and has remained in this position for the last 18 years. He currently teaches two graduate courses:
Ec 2680 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics & Ec 2690 Environmental Economics and Policy Seminar.
Other Positions
Martin Weitzman serves as a consultant to The World Bank, Stanford Research Institute, International Monetary Fund, Agency for International Development, Arthur D. Little Co., Canadian Parliamentary Committee on Employment, Icelandic Committee on Natural Resources, National Academy Panel on Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting.He also serves as Associate Editor of the following publications: Journal of Comparative Economics, Economic Letters, Journal of Japanese and International Economies, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
Awards & recognitions
- National Science Foundation Fellow, 1963–65
- Woodrow Wilson Fellow, 1963–64
- Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellow, 1966
- Guggenheim Fellow, 1970–71
- Fellow of the Econometric Society, 1976–present
- Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1986–present
- Association of Environmental and Resource Economists: Special Award for “Publication
of Enduring Quality.”
- Keynote Speaker, 2002 World Congress of Environmental Economists
- Keynote Speaker, 2006 World Congress of Animal Geneticists
Misdemeanor Charges
In 2005, Weitzman was arrested on misdemeanor charges based on a local farmer's allegation that Weitzman had stolen several truckloads of manure. Weitzman claimed that he had received permission, but he agreed to pay the farmer $600 in order to have the charges dismissed.Following his arrest he was stripped of his endowed chair at Harvard University.
Papers
Weitzman has published over 90 papers, many of which have appeared in Economics Journals. His 3 most recent papers are listed below.- Martin Weitzman, December 2007. "On Modeling and Interpreting the Economics of Catastrophic Climate Change http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/weitzman/files/modeling.pdf"
- Martin Weitzman, February 2007. "The Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/weitzman/files/JELSternReport.pdf"
- Martin Weitzman, January 2007. "Prior-Sensitive Expectations and Asset-Return Puzzles http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/weitzman/files/Subjective-AER.pdf"
- Martin Weitzman, 1984. "The Share Economy", Harvard University Press (translated into seven languages) http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/weitzman/cv/weitzman_cv_2010.pdf"