Tinbergen, Jan

born April 12, 1903, The Hague, Neth.

died June 9, 1994, The Netherlands

Dutch economist noted for his development of econometric models.

For 40 years (1933–73) he taught at The Netherlands School of Economics. As economic adviser to the League of Nations (1936–38), he studied the economic development of the U.S. from 1919 to 1932, work that provided a basis for his development of business cycle theory and methods of economic stabilization. In 1969 he shared with Ragnar Frisch the first Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Nikolaas Tinbergen was his brother.

* * *

▪ 1995

      Dutch economist (b. April 12, 1903, The Hague, Neth.—d. June 9, 1994), shared the first Nobel Prize for Economic Science (1969) with Ragnar Frisch of Norway in recognition of their contributions to the development of econometrics, a method of measuring economic relationships through the systematic application of mathematical models and statistical techniques. This quantitative approach eventually formed the basis for modern economic forecasting. Tinbergen was particularly known for his revolutionary idea that a government cannot achieve a given number of economic policy objectives unless it applies an equal number of independent economic instruments. Late in his career he worked extensively on the problems of international aid to and economic reforms in less developed nations and on the principle of equitable income distribution. Tinbergen received a doctorate in mathematical physics from the University of Leiden (1929), with a dissertation on "Minimum Problems in Physics and Economics." He worked as a business-cycle statistician for the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics from 1929 to 1945, except for a two-year stint (1936-38) with the League of Nations in Geneva. As director of the Netherlands Central Planning Bureau (1945-55), he applied his theories on the dynamics of the business cycle to the nation's post-World War II economic recovery. He resigned in 1955 to take a post as professor of economics at the Netherlands School of Economics (later part of Erasmus University), where he had taught part-time from 1933. He was professor of international cooperation at the University of Leiden from 1973 until he retired in 1975. Tinbergen's major books include Statistical Testing of Business-Cycle Theories (1939; 2 vols.), Economic Policy: Principles and Design (1956), and Income Distribution (1975).

* * *

▪ Dutch economist

born April 12, 1903, The Hague, Netherlands

died June 9, 1994, The Netherlands

      Dutch economist noted for his development of econometric models. He was the cowinner (with Ragnar Frisch (Frisch, Ragnar)) of the first Nobel Prize for Economics, in 1969.

      Tinbergen was the brother of the zoologist Nikolaas Tinbergen (Tinbergen, Nikolaas) and was educated at the University of Leiden. He served as a business-cycle statistician with the Dutch government's Central Bureau of Statistics (1929–36, 1938–45) before becoming the director of the Central Planning Bureau (1945–55). From 1933 to 1973 he was also a professor of economics at The Netherlands School of Economics (now part of Erasmus University), Rotterdam, and he then taught for two years at the University of Leiden before retiring in 1975.

      While acting as an economic adviser to the League of Nations at Geneva (1936–38), Tinbergen analysed economic development in the United States from 1919 to 1932. This pioneering econometric study offered a foundation for his business-cycle theory and guidelines for economic stabilization. He also constructed an econometric model that helped shape both short-term and broader political-economic planning in The Netherlands.

      Because of the political nature of his economic analyses, Tinbergen was one of the first to show that a government with multiple policy objectives, such as full employment and price stability, must be able to draw on multiple economic policy tools—say, monetary policy and fiscal policy—to achieve the desired results. Among his major works are Statistical Testing of Business Cycles (1938), Econometrics (1942), Economic Policy (1956), and Income Distribution (1975).

* * *