Hollis Burnley Chenery (January 6, 1918 – September 1, 1994) was an American

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, 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 ...

well known for his pioneering contribution in the field of development economics.

Early life

Chenery was born in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, son of

Christopher Chenery Christopher Chenery (September 16, 1886 – January 3, 1973) was an American engineer, businessman, and the owner/breeder of record for Thoroughbred horse racing's U.S. Triple Crown champion Secretariat. Early life and career Christopher C ...

, a businessman and horseman. He was educated in Virginia,

Pelham Manor, New York Pelham Manor is an affluent village located in Westchester County, New York. As of the 2020 census, the village had a total population of 5,752. It is located in the town of Pelham. History The Bolton Priory, Edgewood House, and Pelhamdale are ...

and at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

(BSc Mathematics, 1939), the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

(BSc Engineering, 1941), and California Institute of Technology (MSc Engineering, 1943). He served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war he earned degrees from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

(MA Economics, 1947) and

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 higher le ...

(PhD Economics, 1950). His doctoral dissertation, entitled ''Engineering Bases of Economic Analysis'', was written under the direction of Wassily Leontief.

Career

He worked as a professor of economics at Stanford from 1952 to 1961, as a Guggenheim fellow in 1961 and joined 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 bi ...

in 1961, and rose to become an assistant administrator. In 1965 Chenery became a professor of economics at Harvard. His 1966 article with Alan Strout, "Foreign assistance and economic development", provided a macro-economic theory of development aid's effectiveness which remained, for the following 20 years or more, the most explicit model available. Chenery worked as the World Bank's vice president for development policy from 1972 through to 1982. Serving under the presidency of Robert McNamara during most of his time at the Bank, Chenery oversaw an increase in the Bank's research capacity. Although his earlier work had played a part in fixing the focus of aid on targets for overall economic growth, Chenery in the 1970s investigated ways in which this growth could take place in such a way as to benefit the poor. This research – which was published notably in the 1974 book ''Redistribution with growth –'' helped the Bank move to a more poverty-focused approach in the mid- and late 1970s. Chenery's work was wide-ranging but might be summarised as involving the analysis of patterns of development, the use of a two-gap model and multi-sectoral analysis.

Horse racing fame

After his father died in January 1973, his sister

Penny Chenery Helen Bates "Penny" Chenery (January 27, 1922 – September 16, 2017) (married names: Penny Tweedy until 1974 and later Penny Ringquist until 1980) was an American sportswoman who bred and owned Secretariat, the 1973 winner of the Triple Crown. T ...

raced Secretariat on behalf of the family. Secretariat became the first horse in 25 years to win the American Triple Crown, with record-setting victories in the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

, the

Preakness Preakness may refer to: * The Preakness or Preakness Stakes, an American flat thoroughbred horse race held in Baltimore, Maryland * Preakness (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse from Preakness Stables * Preakness, New Jersey, a section of W ...

and the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

. After Secretariat's victory in the Belmont Stakes, Hollis Chenery led the horse down the walkway to the winner's circle as cameras took pictures and the crowd gave a standing ovation. He was played by Dylan Baker in the 2010 film '' Secretariat''.

Selected works

His major works include: *Chenery, Hollis. (1952). ''Overcapacity and the acceleration principle.'', Econometrica * . *Chenery, Hollis; Clark, P. (1959). ''Interindustry economics.'' *Chenery, Hollis. (1960). ''Patterns of industrial growth.'', American Economic Review *Chenery, Hollis. (1961). ''Comparative advantage and development policy.'', American Economic Review *Chenery, Hollis; Strout, A. (1966). ''Foreign assistance and economic development.'', American Economic Review *Chenery, Hollis; et al. (1971). ''Studies in development planning.'' *Chenery, Hollis; et al. (1974). ''Redistibution with growth: an approach to policy.'' *Chenery, Hollis; Syrquin, R. (1975). ''Patterns of development, 1950–1970.'' *Chenery, Hollis. (1975). ''A structuralist approach to development policy, 1975.'', American Economic Review *Chenery, Hollis. (1979). ''Structural change and development policy.'' *Chenery, Hollis. (1983). ''Interaction between theory and observation, world development.''History of Economic Thought Website
* *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chenery, Hollis B. 1918 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American economists American officials of the United Nations California Institute of Technology alumni American development economists Economists from Arizona Economists from New York (state) Fellows of the Econometric Society Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Harvard University faculty People from Pelham Manor, New York Stanford University Department of Economics faculty United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II University of Arizona alumni University of Oklahoma alumni University of Virginia alumni World Bank Chief Economists