Interview with Arnold C. Harberger

Abstract

One of the world’s authorities on public finance, project evaluation, international economics, and economic development, Arnold C. Harberger is the Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics at University of Chicago and currently serves on the faculty of the UCLA Department of Economics. He has also consulted for corporations, international organizations, and governments as varied as Bolivia, Chile, China, Indian, and Mexico. Among the many now classic works he has published are: “On the Use of Distributional Weights in Social Cost-Benefit Analysis”, “Three Basic Postulates for Applied Welfare Economics: An Interpretive Essay”, “The Measurement of Waste (in Principles of Efficiency)”, and “Using the Resources at Hand More Effectively” (see references). On February 14 and 15, 2003, UCLA’s Department of Economics held a special conference, “Fifty Years of Teaching Economics: A Celebration of Arnold Harberger.” It was a celebration indeed, but not for a career entirely past: Professor Harberger —fondly known as “Alito” to his Latin American students— is still going strong. This interview was originally intended to form part of a collection focusing on the education and role of the economist. Alas, the project was not realized, and this fascinating interview, in which Harberger touches on the “Chicago School”; the role of the economist as diagnostician, as policy practitioner, and forecaster; Harberger’s own education; and his views on the controversial Chilean crisis, has never before been published. Saturday afternoon, February 19th, 1994, by the swimming pool at the Hotel de los Tesoros, Álamos, Sonora, after speaking at the “Alamos Alliance” conference that morning.