Martin L. Weitzman was a Professor at the Harvard Department of Economics from 1989 until 2018 when he took on emeritus status as a Research Professor. Before that, he served on the faculty of Yale University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was an exceptionally broad-based economic theorist and made very important contributions to macroeconomics, labour economics, financial economics, the economics of technological change and environmental economics. In particular, his path-breaking research advanced the thinking of environmental economists and policy makers on policy instrument choice, discounting, species diversity, environmental catastrophes, green national income accounting, fisheries, uncertainty, and domestic and international climate change policy. In addition, Weitzman made important contributions with his work on economic planning and the share economy. Across the board, the example of his rigorous and often ingenious research set high standards for theorising and thereby served to elevate numerous fields of inquiry.
Full text: “Martin L. Weitzman (1942–2019)” via publisher.
Citation:
Stavins, Robert N. and Gernot Wagner. “Martin L. Weitzman (1942–2019).” In: The Palgrave Companion to Harvard Economics (ed: Robert A. Cord), Springer International Publishing: pp. 713-29 (6 July 2024).
Related:
“Marty Weitzman, In Memoriam” (29 August 2019)
EAERE 2020 Special session in memory of Martin L. Weitzman (26 June 2020)
“Martin Weitzman: A Gift that Keeps on Giving” by Robert Stavins and Gernot Wagner, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (September 2022)