Lester Carl Thurow (May 7, 1938 – March 25, 2016) was an American
political economist, former dean of the
MIT Sloan School of Management, and author of books on
economic topics.
Education
Born in
Livingston, Montana, Thurow received his
B.A. in
political economy from
Williams College in 1960, where he was in
Theta Delta Chi and
Phi Beta Kappa as a junior, and a Tyng Scholar. After he was awarded a
Rhodes Scholar
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
ship, he went to
Balliol College,
Oxford to read
Philosophy, Politics and Economics, graduating in 1962 with first class honors. He received a Ph.D. in
Economics from
Harvard University in 1964.
Career
Thurow was on the
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
of
Analog Devices
Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), also known simply as Analog, is an American multinational semiconductor company specializing in data conversion, signal processing and power management technology, headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts.
The co ...
,
Grupo Casa Autrey,
E-Trade, and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. Thurow was one of the founders of the
Economic Policy Institute in 1986. Thurow was an economics
columnist
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...
for, among others, the ''
Boston Globe'' and ''
USA Today''. He was an economics columnist for and on the editorial board of the ''
New York Times'', and was a contributing editor to ''
Newsweek'', where he earned the 1982
Gerald Loeb Award
The Gerald Loeb Award, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was estab ...
for Columns/Editorials.
Thurow was a longtime advocate of a political and economic system of the Japanese and European type, in which governmental involvement in the direction of the economy is far more extensive than is the case in the
United States – a model that has come to be known as "Third Way" philosophy. Thurow supported a more universal patent system as a requirement for a knowledge-based economy, where governments would assess the value of infringements of intellectual property against their companies by competitors in foreign jurisdictions and allow these companies to match that.
[
Thurow died at the age of 77 on March 25, 2016.
]
Books
His 1993 book, ''Head to Head: The Coming Economic Battle Among Japan, Europe and America''
References
External links
The Economic Policy Institute
* ttp://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/3011355?f=featured ''CFO Magazine'' – Interview
''The Globalist – Short Biography''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurow, Lester
1938 births
2016 deaths
American economics writers
American male journalists
Harvard University alumni
American Rhodes Scholars
People from Livingston, Montana
Williams College alumni
MIT Sloan School of Management faculty
Journalists from Montana
Economic Policy Institute
Economists from Montana
Gerald Loeb Award winners for Columns, Commentary, and Editorials