James Heckman, the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics has been elected to the presidency of the Econometric Society.
Heckman, who has been elected Second Vice–President, will become First Vice–President in 2012 and President in 2013.
Heckman is the recipient of the 2000 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. His research integrates econometrics, economic theory and policy analysis.
The Econometric Society is an international society for the advancement of economic theory in its relation to statistics and mathematics. The society promotes studies that attempt to unify the theoretical–quantitative and empirical–quantitative approaches to economic problems by employing constructive and rigorous thinking characteristic of the natural sciences.
Yale University economist Irving Fisher and the Norwegian economist Ragnar Frisch, who later became the first economist to be awarded the Nobel Prize, founded the society in 1930.
University of Chicago economist Henry Schultz, the person whom Heckman’s named chair honors, also helped to establish the Econometric Society.
—Prof. Kunle Odunsi
