Andrew S. Zimbalist (born October 16, 1947) is a U.S.
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...
and author of twenty-four books. He is the Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics at
Smith College.
Biography
Zimbalist received his B.A. from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
, in 1969 and his M.A. and Ph.D. from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
in 1972 and 1974 respectively.
He has been in the Economics Department at
Smith College since 1974. He has published several dozen articles and twenty-four books, including ''Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup''. He did a biweekly commentary on the business of sports for
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's Marketplace between 2002 and 2005, and appears regularly with commentary on sports and public policy in the national media. He is a member of the editorial board of the ''
Journal of Sports Economics
The ''Journal of Sports Economics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by SAGE Publications in association with the North American Association of Sports Economists covering the economics of sports. It was established by economist Leo "Ha ...
''.
He has consulted in Latin America for the
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
, the
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...
and numerous companies, and he has consulted in the
sports industry for players' associations, teams, cities, companies and leagues. He was one of the leading critics of the
Boston 2024 Olympic bid, serving as an adviser to the "
No Boston Olympics" activist group. In the mid-1990s Zimbalist was one of the co-founders of the
United Baseball League
United League Baseball was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas. The league operated from 2006 to 2009. The league then temporarily merged with the Northern League and the Golden Baseball League to form the North American League ...
(UBL) which was a planned third
major league.
Family
Zimbalist's eldest sons,
Jeff
Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey.
Music
* DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes
* ...
and
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
, are both filmmakers. He also has two twin children named Alex and Ella Zimbalist. He lives with his wife Shelley, Alex and Ella in Northampton, Ma. He is a second cousin, once removed, of actor
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (November 30, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series ''77 Sunset Strip'' and ''The F.B.I.'' He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the se ...
["Stadium proposal ‘not outlandish,’ expert says" by Katherine Gregg. ''Providence Journal'', May 8, 2015
]
/sup>
Bibliography
* ''Comparing Economic Systems'' (1989)
* ''The Cuban Economy: Measurement and Analysis of Socialist Performance'' (1989)
* ''Panama at the Crossroads'' (1991)
* ''Baseball and Billions'' (1992)
* ''Sports, Jobs and Taxes'' (1997)
* ''Unpaid Professionals: Commercialism and Conflict in Big-time College Sports'' (1999)
* ''The Economics of Sport, I & II'' (2001)
* ''May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy'' (2003)
* ''National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer'' (2005)
* ''In the Best Interests of Baseball? The Revolutionary Reign of
Bud Selig
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig
(; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth Commissioner of Baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served as ...
'' (2006)
* ''The Bottom Line: Observations and Arguments in the Sports Business'' (2007)
* ''Equal Play: Title IX and Social Change'' (2008)
* ''Circling the Bases: Essays on the Challenges and Prospects of the Sports Business'' (2010)
* An updated and expanded edition of his ''In the Best Interests of Baseball? Governing Our National Pastime'' (2013)
* ''The Sabermetric Revolution: Assessing the Growth of Analytics in Baseball'' (2014)
* ''Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup'' (2015)
* ''Unwinding Madness: What Went Wrong with College Sports and How to Fix It'' (2017)
* ''No Boston Olympics: How and Why Smart Cities Are Passing on the Torch'' (2017)
References
Further reading
This chapter in Ruttman's history, based on a February 1, 2008 interview with Zimbalist conducted for the book, discusses Zimbalist's personal and professional involvement with Judaism and baseball.
External links
Zimbalist's faculty page at Smith CollegeZimbalist's personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimbalist, Andrew
21st-century American economists
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Harvard University alumni
Smith College faculty
People from Northampton, Massachusetts
1947 births
Living people