• Announcement
  • March 19, 2019

Alan B. Krueger (1960-2019)

Alan B. Krueger died at the age of 58.

Chris Fascenelli (2017)

The American Economic Association and the economics profession were saddened to learn of the passing of Alan Krueger at age 58. He was the James Madison Professor of Political Economy at Princeton University and served in a variety of roles with the AEA. Krueger was perhaps best known for his empirical work on the effects of minimum wage laws. This work caused economists to reevaluate the long-held view that raising minimum wages always reduced employment. His other research ranged from the economics of education to terrorism to the music industry.

In addition to having a distinguished academic career, he served as chairman of Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers; Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the US Treasury from 2009 to 2010; and Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Labor, under Bill Clinton.

He was vice president of the AEA in 2017, a member of the Executive Committee of the AEA from 2005 to 2007, and editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives from 1996 to 2003. To learn more about Krueger and his contributions to the economics profession, see his obituary in The New York Times.