Charles P. Kindleberger, (1910-2003) was an economic historian who advanced the study of international finance and helped to devise the Marshall Plan for Europe’s reconstruction after World War II. He became famous for introducing the idea that global markets could not fully regulate themselves, and that, instead, leadership was essential to contain monetary crises. He moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1948, where he started as an associate professor and retired in 1976 as the Ford International Professor of Economics. During his tenure, he was a consultant to the federal government several times, and in 1985 was president of the American Economic Association. Professor Kindleberger wrote dozens of books, including a landmark textbook on international economics. He also wrote an autobiography, The Life of an Economist, in 1991.He died in 2003 at the age of ninety-two. |
