Richard Francis Ruggles (1916– March 4, 2001) was an American economist[2] known for "developing accounting tools for measuring national income and improving price indexes used in formulating government policy."[3]

Richard F. Ruggles
Born(1916-06-15)June 15, 1916
DiedMarch 4, 2001(2001-03-04) (aged 84)
NationalityAmerican
Academic career
InstitutionYale University
Alma materHarvard University
Doctoral
students
Uwe Reinhardt[1]
Donald Shoup

Early life and education edit

Ruggles was born June 15, 1916, in Columbus, Ohio. He spent most of his youth in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his father, Clyde O. Ruggles, also an economist, served as the dean of Harvard Business School. Ruggles later pursued both undergraduate and graduate economic studies at Harvard.[4] In 1942, he was awarded a PhD for his thesis titled Price Structure and Distribution over the Cycle.[5]

World War II and academic career edit

In 1943, Ruggles traveled to London and joined the Office of Strategic Services, where he used photographs of destroyed German tank serial numbers to estimate production rates at different factories, solving the German tank problem.[4][6]

Ruggles was a member of the economics department at Yale from 1946 to 1985, serving as chairman from 1969 to 1972. Additionally, he did research for government agencies, the United Nations, the Ford Foundation and the National Bureau of Economic Research.[4]

In 1963 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.[7]

Family edit

Ruggles was married to Nancy D. Ruggles, also an economist, and they frequently worked together. Their daughter, Pat Ruggles, is also a noted economist.[8] Their son, Steven Ruggles, is a professor of history, most known for his creation of IPUMS.[9]

The Nancy and Richard Ruggles Memorial Fund edit

The Nancy and Richard Ruggles Memorial Fund presents an annual award recognizing outstanding scholarship. The prize is given to a researcher or researchers aged 35 or under and it is administered by the trustees of the fund. The presentation is made at the General Conference of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (IARIW).[10]

Bibliography edit

  • Nancy Ruggles; Richard Ruggles (1 January 1999). Macro- and Microdata Analyses and Their Integration. Edward Elgar. ISBN 978-1-85898-991-4.
  • Nancy D. Ruggles; Richard Ruggles (1 January 1999). National Accounting and Economic Policy: The United States and UN Systems. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85898-992-1.

References edit

  1. ^ Reinhardt, Uwe. "An Economic Analysis of Physicians' Practices". Retrieved 9 January 2014 – via ProQuest.
  2. ^ Tobin, J. (2001). "In Memoriam: Richard Ruggles (1916-2001)" (PDF). Review of Income and Wealth. 47 (3): 405–408. doi:10.1111/1475-4991.00025.
  3. ^ "Richard Ruggles, Noted Economic Statistician, Dies". Yale Bulletin. March 23, 2001. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Feder, Barnaby J. (March 10, 2001). "Richard Ruggles, 84, Economist; Developed Measurement Tools". New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  5. ^ Ruggles, Richard. "Price Structure and Distribution over the Cycle". Retrieved January 9, 2014 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ Ruggles, R.; Brodie, H. (1947). "An Empirical Approach to Economic Intelligence in World War II". Journal of the American Statistical Association. 42 (237): 72. doi:10.1080/01621459.1947.10501915. JSTOR 2280189.
  7. ^ View/Search Fellows of the ASA, accessed 2016-07-23.
  8. ^ Feder, Barnaby J. (March 10, 2001), "Richard Ruggles, 84, Economist; Developed Measurement Tools", New York Times
  9. ^ My Mom
  10. ^ "The Nancy and Richard Ruggles Memorial Fund". International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (IARIW). Retrieved 4 June 2015.

External links edit