Background
Eisner, Robert was born on January 17, 1922 in New York City. Son of Harry and Mary (Goldberg) Eisner.
Eisner, Robert was born on January 17, 1922 in New York City. Son of Harry and Mary (Goldberg) Eisner.
Bachelor of Specialized Studies, City College of New York, 1940. Master of Arts, Columbia University, 1942. Doctor of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins, 1951.
Postgraduate, University Paris, 1946.
Economics and State, United States Office Price Information, Office War Information, Office
Housing Expediter, 1941-1947. Junior Instructor Political Economics, Johns Hopkins University, 1951. Instructor, Research Assistant, Professor of Economics, University Illinois, 1950-1952.
Assistant Professor, Association Professor, Professor, Northwestern University, 1952-1954, 1954-1956, 1960-1974. Visiting Disting Professor, University Binghamton, 1971, Monash University, Australia, 1982. Senior Research Association, National Bureau of Economie Research, New York, New York, United States of America, 1969-1978.
William R. Kenan Professor of Economics, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America, since 1974. Editorial Board, American Economic Review,
1966-1968, Journal of Economic Literature. Association Editor, Revue Economique State.
Author: The Great Deficit Scares: The Federal Budget, Trade, and Social Security, The Misunderstood Economy: What Counts and How to Count It, The Total Incomes Systems of Accounts, How Real is the Federal Deficit?, Factors in Business Investment, Social Security: More, Not Less. Board editors American Economic Review, 1966-1968, Journal Economic Literature, 1983-1988, Journal Economic Education, 1981-1998, Review Income and Wealth, 1985-1989, 91-98. Associate editor: Review Economics and Statistics, 1973-1995.
Advisory board Journal Economic Perspectives, 1987-1998. Contributor articles to professional journals.
I have made major contributions to the formulation and estimation of the investment function, macroeconomic theory and policy, and extended measures of income and output. My early work on the distributed lag investment function and then my seminal paper with Robert H. Strotz integrated the theory of investment and changing demands for capital in terms of adjustment costs. Traditional dichotomies of long and short run were generalised to paths of capital and investment over time, determined by the increasing cost of more rapid change.
In later work I brought forth the role of expectations and the implications of the permanent income hypothesis for estimation of both consumption and investment functions.
With M. I. Nadiri, I offered modifications and generalisations of the ‘neoclassical’ investment function in terms of unconstrained underlying production functions and elasticities. I carried this forward in important recent work on the implications of accelerated depreciation and other investment tax parameters in major, large-scale econometric models. I have also related determinants of growth and employment to parameters of production, investment and consumption functions and liquidity preference, and noted limitations as well as potential innovations in fiscal and monetary policy.
I showed the reduced and sometimes perverse effects on aggregate demand and output to be expected from temporary changes in personal and business income tax rates.
Also I have undertaken significant extensions of existing concepts of national income and product and have recently completed comprehensive estimates of the modified and expanded measures. These have involved nonmarket as well as market output and show traditional net private domestic investment to be a minor fraction of all net human and nonhuman capital formation by business,
government, and households. Most recently, in adjusting government budget deficits for effects of inflation and other distortions, I have offered important new perceptions of the macroeconomic impacts of fiscal policy.
Member McGovern Economic Advisory Group, 1971-1972. Trustee Roycemore School, Evanston, 1969-1984. Served to captain Field Artillery, Army of the United States, 1942-1946.
Fellow Econometric Society, American Academy Arts and Sciences American Economic Association (executive committee 1971-1973, vice president 1977, president elect 1987, president 1988). Member Midwest Economic Association (president-elect 1981-1982, president 1982-1983), Social Science Research Council (board directors, executive committee 1977-1979), Phi Beta Kappa.
Married Edith Avery Chelimer, June 30, 1946. Children: Mary Eisner Eccles, Emily.