Lars Peter Hansen

Lars Peter Hansen is an American economist renowned for his foundational work in econometric theory and its application to understanding complex economic dynamics. He is the David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago and a principal investigator at the Becker Friedman Institute. Hansen was jointly awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2013 for his empirical analysis of asset prices, sharing the honor with Eugene Fama and Robert Shiller. His development of the Generalized method of moments has become a cornerstone technique in modern econometrics and financial economics.

Early life and education

Born in Urbana, Illinois, he spent his formative years in Logan, Utah, where his father served as a professor at Utah State University. He completed his undergraduate studies in mathematics at Utah State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree. Hansen then pursued graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, where he earned his Ph.D. in economics in 1978 under the supervision of future Nobel laureate Christopher A. Sims. His doctoral dissertation laid the groundwork for his subsequent pioneering research in econometric methods for studying dynamic economic models.

Academic career

Following his doctorate, he began his academic career as an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University. In 1981, he joined the faculty of the University of Chicago, where he has remained a central figure, holding appointments in the Department of Economics and the Booth School of Business. He has served as director of the National Bureau of Economic Research's program in Economic Fluctuations and Growth and as a research associate for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Throughout his tenure, he has mentored numerous leading economists and has been a visiting scholar at institutions like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Hoover Institution.

Research and contributions

His most celebrated contribution is the development of the Generalized method of moments, a powerful and flexible econometric technique for estimating parameters in economic models, particularly those derived from rational expectations. This work, often in collaboration with Kenneth Singleton, revolutionized the empirical analysis of consumption-based asset pricing models. Later, in partnership with Thomas J. Sargent and others, he pioneered the application of Robust control theory to economics, examining how agents make decisions under profound uncertainty about model specifications. His research has profoundly influenced fields such as macroeconomics, financial economics, and the study of business cycles.

Awards and honors

His seminal contributions have been recognized with the highest honors in economics. He was awarded the Frisch Medal by the Econometric Society in 1984. In 2006, he received the Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics from Northwestern University. The pinnacle of recognition came in 2013 when the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded him the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He is a fellow of the Econometric Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences. He has also delivered prestigious lectures including the Fisher-Schultz Lecture and the Walras-Bowley Lecture.

Personal life

He is married to Grace Tsiang, a noted economist and daughter of the late scholar Sho-Chieh Tsiang. The couple maintains a strong connection to the academic community in Chicago. Outside his professional work, he has a noted interest in music and is an accomplished clarinetist. His brother, Roger Hansen, is also a professor, and his family life reflects a deep, ongoing engagement with intellectual and cultural pursuits.

Category:American economists Category:University of Chicago faculty Category:Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureates