26 Facts About Alexander Gerschenkron

Alexander Gerschenkron was an American economic historian and professor at Harvard University, trained in the German Historical School of economics.

Alexander Gerschenkron was born in Odesa, Ukraine, into a well-to-do Jewish family from Bessarabia.

Alexander Gerschenkron found work in Vienna as a representative for a Belgian motorcycle firm.

Alexander Gerschenkron worked for the firm for three years, but then decided to commit himself to politics, in particular the Social Democrats.

Charles Gulick, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, invited Alexander Gerschenkron to be his research assistant.

Alexander Gerschenkron spent twelve months researching and writing to help produce Gulick's book, Austria: From Habsburg to Hitler.

Alexander Gerschenkron researched at the University of California, Berkeley, for five years and then in 1943 he moved to Washington, DC, to join the Federal Reserve Board.

Alexander Gerschenkron's knowledge was of vital importance to the Board, because it was during a time when the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States was a central issue.

Alexander Gerschenkron worked on the Federal Reserve Board for four years, and was eventually promoted to the head of the International Section.

In 1945, Alexander Gerschenkron became an American citizen and in 1948, he left the Federal Reserve Board to accept a position as a tenured professor at Harvard University.

Alexander Gerschenkron was a professor of economics at Harvard for about 25 years.

Alexander Gerschenkron was an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Alexander Gerschenkron kept his former political affiliations a secret after he was able to immigrate to the United States.

The Alexander Gerschenkron effect arises because of the negative correlation between prices and volumes.

In 1951, Alexander Gerschenkron wrote an essay Economic Backwardness in Historical Perspective, a cornerstone of his career, and of significance to European economic history.

Alexander Gerschenkron stated that a country such as Russia, backward relative to Britain when it embarked on industrialization, did not go through the same stages.

Alexander Gerschenkron did not define economic backwardness but alluded to related factors: income per capita, amount of social overhead capital, literacy, savings rates and level of technology.

Alexander Gerschenkron laid much of the blame for Austria's economic backwardness on Bohm-Bawerk's unwillingness to spend heavily on public works projects.

In 1943, Alexander Gerschenkron published a book titled Bread and Democracy in Germany.

Alexander Gerschenkron defines the economic history of the problem as this: In 1879, Germany introduced a new tariff and formulated a definite policy, which protected domestic grain production against overseas competition.

Alexander Gerschenkron warns of the possible difficulties of creating a government monopoly.

Alexander Gerschenkron believes the management of the monopoly would require "great practical skill and energy".

Alexander Gerschenkron believes the Germans should include this program of the agricultural adjustment plan in the peace treaties and entrust its execution and supervision to an international economic agency.

Alexander Gerschenkron's course required two major dissertation papers and a final exam.

Alexander Gerschenkron led evening seminars once a week in which his graduate students would discuss ideas for dissertations and evaluate quantitative techniques.

Alexander Gerschenkron studied many subjects, from history of economics, economics of the Soviet Union, statistics, Greek poetry, and a great deal in between.