Professor Sigbert Jon Prais FBA (born 19 December 1928, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany) is an economist and has been the Senior Research Fellow at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) since 1970.

Education

His family arrived in Britain in 1934 as Jewish refugees from the Nazis. He was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham

King Edward's School, Birmingham

King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...

, the University of Birmingham

University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...

 (MCom) and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge

Fitzwilliam College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge in England.The college traces its origins back to 1869 and the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer students from less financially privileged backgrounds a chance to study...

 (PhD 1953; ScD 1974). He became a British citizen in 1946.

Career

• Lecturer, Department of Applied Economics, University of Cambridge
  University of Cambridge
  The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
  
  , 1950–57
• Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Chicago
  University of Chicago
  The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
  
  , 1953–54
• Research officer, NIESR, 1953–59
• United Nations
  United Nations
  The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
  
   Technical Assistance Organisation, 1959–60
• International Monetary Fund
  International Monetary Fund
  The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
  
  , 1960–61
• Finance Director, Elbief Co., 1961–70
• Visiting Professor of Economics, City University, 1975–84.

Positions ans honours

• Member of Council, Royal Economic Society
  Royal Economic Society
  The Royal Economic Society is incorporated by a Royal Charter dated 2 December 1902. It is one of the oldest economic associations in the world. Currently it has over 3,300 individual members, of whom 60% live outside the United Kingdom...
  
  , 1979–83
• Member of Council, City University, 1990–94
• Fellow of the British Academy, 1985
• Hon. DLitt City University, 1989
• Hon. DSc University of Birmingham, 2006.

Publications

• Analysis of Family Budgets, 1955, 2nd edn 1971
• Evolution of Giant Firms in Britain, 1976, 2nd edn 1981
• Productivity and Industrial Structure, 1981
• Productivity, Education and Training, 1995
• From School to Productive Work in Britain and Switzerland, 1997
• Social Disparities and the Teaching of Literacy, 2001