Nobel winner to speak Monday at UF about Obama's economics policy

April 4, 2009

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Robert Solow, a Nobel Memorial Prize winner and professor emeritus in economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will speak Monday at the Reitz Student Union Auditorium on President Obama’s first 100 days in office.

Solow’s talk, “Obama’s First 100 Days — an Economist’s Perspective,” will begin at 4:15 p.m.

Solow was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science in 1987 for his work in economic growth. He was also awarded the John Bates Clark Medal in 1961 for significant contributions to economics before the age of 40.

Solow also served in President Kennedy’s council of economic advisers, and in 1999 he was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Clinton. A Harvard graduate and career-long MIT lecturer, Solow has earned 28 honorary degrees.

Economics professor Jonathan Hamilton said Solow will meet with economics faculty and graduate students at UF to discuss economic research, including his recent research on low-wage work in Europe and America.

“The Department of Economics looks forward to having such a gifted scholar and speaker present us with his views on economic policy in the current crisis,” Hamilton said.