Lawrence Klein, Clark Medalist 1959

Citation by Clair Wilcox, Chairman, Committee on Honors and Awards, on the Occasion of Conferring the Medal

The John Bates Clark medal is awarded every other year "to that American economist who is adjudged to have made a significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge." The recipients of this award are chosen by an electoral college consisting of the Association's Committee on Honors and Awards and its Executive Committee. To receive the award in 1959, the electoral college has chosen Professor Lawrence R. Klein, of the University of Pennsylvania. The long list of his works, consisting of threescore books and articles published over the last twelve years, testifies to Professor Klein's industry, his originality, the breadth of his interests, and the high quality of his scholarship. As an economist, he has insisted that theory be grounded in empirical fact. As an econometrician, he has succeeded in wedding theory to modern statistical technique. An interpreter of the Keynesian revolution, he has pioneered in extending the analysis empirically as well as theoretically. On behalf of the American Economic Association, I take pleasure in awarding the John Bates Clark medal to Lawrence R. Klein.