Horst Siebert (20 March 1938 – 2 June 2009) was a German

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 ...

. He was a member of the

German Council of Economic Experts The German Council of Economic Experts (German: ') is a group of economists set up in 1963 to evaluate economic policies of the German government. In the media, the council is often referred to as the "Five Sages of Economy" (''Fünf Wirtschaftswei ...

from 1990 to 2003. Siebert also served as a member of both the Group of Economic Analysis (GEA) and the Group of Economic Policy Analysis (GEPA), a number of "European economists who advise the European Commission’s president." From 2002 to 2004, as a member of GEA, he advised EU President

Romano Prodi Romano Antonio Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician, economist, academic, senior civil servant, and business executive who served as the tenth president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prim ...

. From 2005 to 2007, as a member of GEPA, he advised EU President

Jose Manuel Barroso Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

Siebert spent most of his academic career at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

, where he held the chair for

economic theory Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

from 1989 to 2003. A native of

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, Siebert studied economics at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

(1959–1963), while also studying, and undertaking research in, economics at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

(1960–1961). He earned his doctorate degree in economics from the

University of Münster The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over ...

in 1965. Siebert was appointed to the chair of economics and foreign trade at the

University of Mannheim The University of Mannheim (German: ''Universität Mannheim''), abbreviated UMA, is a public research university in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1967, the university has its origins in the ''Palatine Academy of Sciences'', ...

in 1969. He left in 1984 for the chair of economic relations at the

University of Konstanz The University of Konstanz (german: Universität Konstanz) is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its main campus was opened on the Gießberg in 1972 after being founded in 1966. The university is Germany's ...

. Five years later, Siebert was appointed to the chair of economic theory at the

. He was awarded the Ludwig-Erhard Prize in 1999, the

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

in 2004, the Hayek Prize for excellence in economic writing in 2007. In his book entitled ''Der Kobra-Effekt. Wie man Irrwege der Wirtschaftspolitik vermeidet'', he illustrated the causes of

perverse incentive A perverse incentive is an incentive that has an unintended and undesirable result that is contrary to the intentions of its designers. The cobra effect is the most direct kind of perverse incentive, typically because the incentive unintentionall ...

s in economy and politics in referring to the so-called

cobra effect A perverse incentive is an incentive that has an unintended and undesirable result that is contrary to the intentions of its designers. The cobra effect is the most direct kind of perverse incentive, typically because the incentive unintentionall ...

. His other publications include: ''The German Economy, Beyond the Social Market'' (2005); ''The World Economy. A Global Analysis'' (2007, 3rd edition); ''Einführung in die Volkswirtschaftslehre'', co-author (2007); ''Economics of the Environment: Theory and Policy'' (2008, 7th revised edition; 2001 in Chinese); ''Rules for the Global Economy'' (2009). Siebert reportedly was a frequent contributor to academic journals and other publications. His seminal book, ''World Economics'' (1999, reprinted in 2000, 2nd edition 2002), "offered a new global perspective on international economic structures and processes." He was a visiting scholar at

The Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and i ...

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral teaching and research institute and an independent body of the European Union with juridical personality, established by the member states to contribu ...

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 ...

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT),

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, and the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

, among other institutions. He held the Heinz Nixdorf Chair in European Integration and Economic Policy at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of the ...

, Bologna Center. Siebert also served as President of the Kiel Institute for World Economics from 1989 to 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siebert, Horst 1938 births 2009 deaths German economists University of Cologne alumni Wesleyan University alumni University of Münster alumni University of Kiel faculty University of Mannheim faculty University of Konstanz faculty People from Neuwied Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts People from the Rhine Province