Edward Lazear
Edward Lazear
Full Name and Common Aliases
Edward Paul Lazear is an American economist and academic administrator.
Birth and Death Dates
Born on May 12, 1937, in New York City, USA. Still active today.
Nationality and Profession(s)
American economist, Professor of Economics (emeritus) at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.
Early Life and Background
Edward Lazear was born into a family with strong academic roots. His father, who immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1920, worked as an accountant. Growing up in New York City, Lazear showed early promise, attending Stuyvesant High School, a magnet school for science and mathematics. He went on to earn his Bachelor's degree in Economics from Columbia University and later completed his Master's and Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley.
Major Accomplishments
Throughout his illustrious career, Edward Lazear has made significant contributions to various fields within economics, including labor economics, personnel economics, and public finance. Some key highlights include:
Serving as Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers from 2006 to 2007, providing strategic economic advice to the Bush administration.
Developing the concept of "tournament theory," which explains how employees are incentivized through competition and evaluation systems in the workplace. This work has had a lasting impact on organizational behavior theories.
Notable Works or Actions
Lazear has written extensively on topics related to labor economics, human resources, and public policy. His notable works include:
"Personnel Economics," a book that explores how economic principles can be applied to understand the dynamics of personnel management.
"Workshop Practice and Externalities in Labor Markets," an article co-authored with James M. Spletzer, examining the impact of externalities on labor market outcomes.
Impact and Legacy
Edward Lazear's contributions have had a lasting impact on both academic circles and policy-making institutions. His work has informed various government initiatives, such as changes to tax codes and labor laws. As an influential voice in his field, he continues to inspire future generations of economists through his research, teaching, and public engagement.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Edward Lazear's legacy is built on the principles of rigorous economic analysis, insightful policy recommendations, and a commitment to education. His influence extends beyond academia into government, business, and broader public discourse.
Quotes by Edward Lazear
If you look at the housing market and say, are housing prices going up where job growth is high, where wage growth is high, where demographic movement brings people into the housing market? All of those things seem to be true.
Are people behaving as if they believe this is a weak economy? I see no indication of that. In fact, I see the contrary.
It would be a significant problem and it would move in exactly the wrong direction.
We are moving into that phase where we expect that wage growth will catch up and take productivity over.
Over the longer period of time it would move in exactly the wrong direction because it would encourage us to use more oil, not less.
If we were to see an abrupt change in exchange rates, we might expect there might be some change in that. But again, I don't think anybody's predicting any kind of abrupt change.
But there are other issues that we have to think about is that the best way to be using our tax revenues? Is it the most efficient way to allocate our resources? And so there are a number of issues that are under study on that.