Frank Ackerman

Frank Ackerman
Born(1946-10-17)October 17, 1946
Madison, Wisconsin
DiedJuly 15, 2019(2019-07-15) (aged 72)
Cambridge, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSwarthmore College
Harvard University
Scientific career
FieldsEconomics
Websitefrankackerman.com

Francis Hopkirk Ackerman (October 17, 1946 – July 15, 2019) was an American economist known for his work in environmental economics, particularly in the areas of climate change and development.[1] He is also known as a founder of the magazine Dollars & Sense.

Life

Ackerman was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the son of Eugene Ackerman and Dorothy née Hopkirk. He received his bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics at Swarthmore College, followed by a PhD in economics from Harvard University. He lived most of his life in Somerville, Massachusetts and Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1][2][3]

Writings

A prominent critic of conventional economic approaches to climate and their use of cost–benefit analysis, he has written for academic and popular presses and directed studies for government agencies and nongovernmental organizations.[4]

Ackerman's last books were NAFTA 2.0: For People or Polluters? A Climate Denier's Trade Deal versus a Clean Energy Economy (2018) and Worst-Case Economics: Extreme Events in Climate and Finance (Anthem Press, 2017). His other books include Can We Afford the Future? Economics for a Warming World (Zed Books, 2009),[5] Poisoned for Pennies: The Economics of Toxics and Precaution (Island Press, 2008), and Priceless: On Knowing the Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing (The New Press, 2004, with Lisa Heinzerling).

Institutions

Ackerman was a senior economist at Synapse Energy Economics, a public interest-oriented consulting firm in Cambridge, MA.[6] Before joining Synapse in 2012, he held research positions at the Stockholm Environment Institute's US Center,[4] at Tufts University's Global Development and Environment Institute,[7] and at the Tellus Institute. He taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts.

Ackerman was a co-founder and steering committee member of the Economics for Equity and the Environment Network, and a member scholar of the Center for Progressive Reform.[8] He was a co-founder and editor of the magazine Dollars & Sense.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Frank 'Francis' Hopkirk Ackerman". The Boston Globe. July 21, 2019. p. A15. Retrieved January 23, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ "Frank Ackerman | Global Development Policy Center". bu.edu. December 5, 2017. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  3. ^ "Riots, populism, and non-industrial labor : a comparative study of the political economy of the urban crowd". hollis.harvard.edu. 1975. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "SEI-US - Staff - Frank Ackerman". sei-us.org. July 23, 2008. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  5. ^ "Zed Books – Can We Afford the Future?". Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  6. ^ "Synapse - Staff - Frank Ackerman". synapse-energy.com. August 31, 2014. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  7. ^ "Frank Ackerman profile @ GDAE". ase.tufts.edu. February 17, 2011. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  8. ^ "Center for Progressive Reform :Frank Ackerman". progressivereform.org. July 27, 2011. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  9. ^ "Trunity: Frank Ackerman's Profile". eoearth.org. May 20, 2011. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2022.