23 Facts About Martin Weitzman

Martin Lawrence Weitzman was an economist and a professor of economics at Harvard University.

Martin Weitzman was among the most influential economists in the world according to Research Papers in Economics.

Martin Weitzman's mother died before he was 1; his father, after returning from military service in World War II, was apparently unable to care for the child, and he was placed in an orphanage.

Martin Weitzman first joined the Yale University faculty, in 1967, moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, before joining the economics department at Harvard University in 1989, where he taught until his death in 2019.

In 2005 Martin Weitzman was arrested on charges of stealing manure from a farm in Rockport MA.

In return for dismissal of the charges Martin Weitzman agreed to pay the farmer $600 and to make an additional $300 charitable donation in lieu of performing community service.

Martin Weitzman died by suicide on August 27,2019, at the age of 77.

Martin Weitzman's research covered a wide range of topics including environmental and natural resource economics, green accounting, economics of biodiversity, economics of environmental regulation, economics of climate change, discounting, comparative economic systems, economics of profit sharing, economic planning, and microfoundations of macro theory.

Martin Weitzman added dramatic climate change to the cost-benefit analysis to show that immediate measures must be taken in climate change regulation.

Martin Weitzman proposed that, when firms use profit sharing wages, meaning employees receive higher wages when a company is doing well, firms have lower rates of unemployment and do better during recessions.

Martin Weitzman is known for was his study of price versus quantity controls.

Martin Weitzman proposed that when faced with uncertainty the relative slopes of the marginal benefits versus the marginal costs must be examined in order to determine which type of control will be most effective.

Martin Weitzman's research showed that if the slope of marginal costs is steeper, price controls are more effective and if the relative slope of marginal damages is steeper, then quantity controls are more effective.

Martin Weitzman began his teaching career in 1967 as an assistant professor of economics at Yale University.

Three years later Martin Weitzman was promoted to associate professor, and he remained in this position until 1972 when he joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an associate professor.

In 1974, Martin Weitzman became a professor at MIT, where he taught until 1989.

From 1986 to 1989, Martin Weitzman was recognized as a Mitsui professor at MIT.

In 1989, Weitzman became an Ernest E Monrad Professor of Economics at Harvard University and has remained in this position for the last 18 years.

Martin Weitzman taught two graduate courses: Ec2680 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics and Ec2690, Environmental Economics and Policy Seminar.

Martin Weitzman served as associate editor of the following publications: Journal of Comparative Economics, Economics Letters, Journal of Japanese and International Economies, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management.

Martin Weitzman wrote three books: The Share Economy: Conquering Stagflation; Income, Wealth, and the Maximum Principle; and, most recently, Climate Shock, jointly with Gernot Wagner.

Martin Weitzman introduced an alternate labor payment system as a way of combating stagflation.

Martin Weitzman published over 90 papers, many of which appeared in economics journals.