Professor Stanley Fischer has been appointed head of the Department of Economics effective July 1, Dean Philip S. Khoury of the School of Humanities and Social Science has announced. Professor Fischer succeeds Professor Peter Temin.
"Professor Fischer's accomplishments as scholar, teacher and administrator make him especially well suited to lead one of MIT's most eminent departments," Dean Khoury said.
A graduate of the London School of Economics (BSc, 1965 and MSc, 1966), Dr. Fischer received the PhD in 1969 from MIT. He joined the faculty in 1973 and was appointed to the Elizabeth and James Killian 1926 Professorship in 1992.
His research has focused on inflation and its stabilization indexation, international economics, and economic growth and development.
"As founder and editor of the National Bureau of Economic Research's Macroeconomics Annual, Stan Fischer has exercised decisive influence in setting the trend for what is considered mainline macroeconomics," Dean Khoury said.
He added: "His Macroeconomics , written with MIT colleague Professor Rudiger Dornbusch, is the leading textbook in the field and is used throughout the world. He has authored and edited six other books, including Indexing, Inflation, and Economic Policy (1986) and more than 100 articles. He is also a highly successful teacher whose students continue to pass on a great tradition of learning throughout the economics profession."
Proessor Fischer has held visiting positions at the Hoover Institution and at Hebrew University, where he is a member of the board. He is a fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Between 1988 and1990, he served as chief economist and vice president of the World Bank.
A version of this article appeared in the September 15, 1993 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 38, Number 6).
