James Heckman

James Joseph Heckman (born April 19, 1944) is a leading economist at the University of Chicago, Distinguished Chair of Microeconometric at University College, London, and University College, Dublin. He shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2000 with Daniel McFadden for his pioneering work in econometrics and microeconomics. He is among the [http://ideas.repec.org/top/top.person.all.html 10 best economists] in the world according to IDEAS/RePEc.

Academic career

Heckman received his B.A. in mathematics from Colorado College, and received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in economics in 1971. Heckman then served as an Assistant Professor at Columbia University before moving to the University of Chicago in 1973. In addition to serving as the Henry B. Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, Heckman is also the director of the Economics Research Center and the Center for Social Program Evaluation at the Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy. In 2004, he was appointed as the Distinguished Chair of Microeconometrics at University College, London. In June 2006 he was appointed as the Professor of Science and Society at University College Dublin. [ [http://www.ucd.ie/news/jun06/060606_nobel.htm University College Dublin web site] .] Heckman is also a senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation.

Works

Heckman is most famous for his contributions to selection bias and self-selection analysis especially Heckman correction, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. He is also well-known for his empirical research in labor economics, particularly regarding the efficacy of early childhood education programs.

Heckman's work has been devoted to the development of a scientific basis for economic policy evaluation, with special emphasis on models of individuals and disaggregated groups, and to the problems and possibilities created by heterogeneity, diversity, and unobserved counterfactual states.

In the early 1990s, his pioneering research on the outcomes of people who obtain the GED certificate received national attention.

His recent research focuses on human development and lifecycle skill formation, with a special emphasis on the economics of early childhood education.

Professor Heckman has published over 200 articles and several books. His most recent books include "Inequality in America: What Role for Human Capital Policy?" (with Alan Krueger); "Evaluating Human Capital Policy, Law, and Employment: Lessons from Latin American and the Caribbean" (with Carmen Pages); and the "Handbook of Econometrics", volumes 5, 6A, and 6B (edited with Edward Leamer).

ee also

*List of economists
*List of think tanks

References

External links

* [http://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/05-06/heckman.cfm?js=0 Interview with James J. Heckman in The Region, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, 2005]
* [http://jenni.uchicago.edu/ James J. Heckman's Homepage at the University of Chicago]
* [http://ideas.repec.org/e/phe22.html IDEAS/RePEc]
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/743/000141320/]