Alice Amsden

Who was Alice Amsden?

Alice Amsden was a researcher in the field of heterodox political economy. She died suddenly on March 15, 2012, at her home in Cambridge at the age of 68; she was the Barton L. Weller Professor of Political Economics at MIT, in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and Researcher at MIT Center for International Studies

Amsden received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her PhD from the London School of Economics. Professor Amsden began her career as an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and taught at University of California, Los Angeles, Barnard College at Columbia University, Harvard Business School and The New School before being appointed professor at MIT in 1994. In addition to teaching and writing, she has been a consultant to the World Bank, OECD and various organizations within the United Nations. In 2002, she was awarded the Leontief Prize by the Global Development and Environment Institute and was named one of the top 50 visionaries by Scientific American for her premise that one-size-fits-all economic policies are ill-suited for poor countries looking to become industrialized. In 2009, she was appointed by the United Nations secretary-general to a 3-year seat on the U.N. Committee on Development Policy, a subsidiary of the U.N. Economic and Social Council. The 24-member committee provides inputs and independent advice to the council on emerging cross-sectoral development issues and on international cooperation for development.