Leonid Hurwicz (born on August 21st, 1917 with Moscow) is a highly skilled economist, Co-prize winner of the “Nobel Prize” of economy in reward of its work pioneers in the field of the Théorie of the design of the mechanisms.

Biography

Leonid is born in Moscow, in a Jewish-Polish family some time before the Russian Révolution, resulting from the Royaume of the Congress (the part of Poland under Russian domination) which had been forced with the emigration by the First World War. His/her parents join Warsaw shortly after its birth. In 1938, Leonid Hurwicz is graduate in right of the Université of Warsaw. Impassioned by the economy, it leaves to study with the London School off Economics with Nicholas Kaldor and Friedrich Hayek. 1939 see it with the Institut of high international studies of Geneva, to follow the seminar of Ludwig von Mises.

The history abuses its family when, in 1939, Hitler invades Poland: his/her parents flee then with his brother to see itself stopped and sent in a Soviet camp of work. Leonid Hurwicz, for its part, joined Portugal then arrives at the United States in 1940.

In 1944, he marries Evelyn Jensen (born on October 31st, 1921) which had been its school-fellow with the Université of Chicago and its assistant thereafter, in the years 1940. They have four children, Sarah, Michael, Ruth and Maxim.

Per hour of its nomination (on October 19th, 2007), he suffers from health issues and it is not certain that it can go to Stockholm to receive the Prix of the Bank of Sweden in economic scenes in memory of Alfred Nobel.

Career

Its studies having been animated because of the war, Hurwicz does not have a diploma of economy: “all that I know in economy, I learned it while listening and while learning.” Its studies, however, proceed with the best: in 1941, he is research assistant of Paul Samuelson with the Massachusetts Institute off Technology; then it assists Oskar Lange the University of Chicago. The Second world war sees it off teaching electronics with the soldier-engineers of US Army within the Illinois Institute Technology.

In 1945-46, he is stock-broker of the Guggenheim Fellowship.

He becomes highly skilled professor of economy to the Université of Minnesota.

Rewards

He is Co-prize winner in 2007 of the “Nobel Prize” of economy (with Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson).

He off receives in 1990 the National Medal Science.