Education
Amsden received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her Doctor of Philosophy from the London School of Economics.
Amsden received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her Doctor of Philosophy from the London School of Economics.
She died suddenly on March 14, 2012, at her home in Cambridge at the age of 68. She was the Barton L. Weller Professor of Political Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and Researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for International Studies
Professor Amsden began her career as an economist at the Organisation for Economic Company-operation and Development (Organization of European Cooperation and Development) and taught at University of California, Los Angeles, Barnard College at Columbia University, Harvard Business School and The New School before being appointed professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. In addition to teaching and writing, she has been a consultant to the World Bank, Organization of European Cooperation and Development and various organizations within the United Nations.
In 2002, she was awarded the Leontief Prize by the Global Development and Environment Institute and was named one of the top 50 visionaries by Scientific American for her premise that one-size-fits-all economic policies are ill-suited for poor countries looking to become industrialized.
In 2009, she was appointed by the United Nations secretary-general to a 3-year seat on the United Nations Committee on Development Policy, a subsidiary of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The 24-member committee provides inputs and independent advice to the council on emerging cross-sectoral development issues and on international cooperation for development.
Amsden wrote several books about the industrialization of developing countries. Her work emphasized the importance of the state as a facilitator and guide of economic development.
She also saw knowledge as a crucial determinant of economic growth.
Her books include Asia"s Next Giant: South of Korea and Late Industrialisation and The Rise of the Rest. In the former she concentrated on the development of South of Korea and in the latter she compared the experiences of several developing countries - mostly East Asian and Latin American countries.