Joseph Stiglitz
Joseph Stiglitz is a New Keynesian American economist that is frequently cited by other people around the world, because of his influential theories in economics. He was Born in Gary, Indiana on February 9th, 1943 and later attended Amherst College. He then went to MIT from his last year of undergraduate study all the way to a Ph. D.
Aside from getting a Ph. D., Stiglitz also received the John Bates Clark Award in 1979 as well as the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2001. These two awards are considered the most prestigious awards in the field of economics.
What achievements did Stiglitz accomplish in the field of economics to get him such prestigious awards? Obviously, he proposed innovative economic ideas. The most influential and important theories and ideas he proposed were the idea of screening in information asymmetry (which got him the Nobel Prize) as well as the Shapiro-Stiglitz model in Efficiency Wages.
Apart from the awards he received, Stiglitz also assumed many important roles both politically and economically:
Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank
President of the International Economic Association
Member and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors during Clinton Administration
Chair of the Commission of Experts on Reform of the International Financial and Monetary System
Stiglitz also found the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) and published many important works, such as Whither Socialism and Globalization and Its Discontents. He participated in many current protests related to the economy as well, such as the 2011 Spanish protest and the current Wall Street protest in America. He currently is a University Professor, the highest academic rank, in Columbia University.