Sachs, Jeffrey David

Jeffrey David Sachs (săks), 1954–, American economist, b. Detroit; grad. Harvard (B.A., 1976; M.A., 1978; Ph.D., 1980). He joined the Harvard faculty in 1980, and became a full professor three years later. A hands-on macroeconomist as well as an academic, he advised in the 1980s Bolivia, which was experiencing extreme hyperinflation. His success there—through deep cuts in spending and wages, collection of domestic debts, and other reforms—led to consultancies with other economically troubled countries. Among these were Venezuela, Ecuador, Poland, and Russia; he worked on the change from socialism to market economies in the latter two. He has also advised financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and has become an advocate of debt relief for and the provision of grants (not loans) to poor countries. In 2002 Sachs moved to Columbia as director of its Earth Institute and professor of economics, health policy, and management. From 2002–06 he also served as special adviser to the United Nations secretary-general; he now directs the UN's Millenium Project, whose aims include the reduction of poverty, disease, and hunger and the promotion of environmental health and gender equality. A prolific author, he is best known for The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (2005). His other books include Economics of Worldwide Stagflation (1985, with M. Bruno), Global Linkages (1991), with W. McKibbin), and Macroeconomics in the Global Economy (1993, with F. Larrain).

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Publication information: Article title: Sachs, Jeffrey David. Encyclopedia title: The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. © 2012 The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. Used with the permission of Columbia University Press. All Rights Reserved. Publisher: The Columbia University Press. Place of publication: Not available. Publication year: 2012.

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