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Robert Emerson Lucas Jr., uno de los economistas m谩s influyentes de las 煤ltimas d茅cadas, falleci贸 el lunes a los 85 a帽os, seg煤n han comunicado compa帽eros y alumnos en las redes sociales, y ha sido confirmado por la Universidad de Chicago, donde era profesor. Lucas recibi贸 el Premio Nobel de Econom铆a en 1995 por su trabajo sobre las expectativas racionales, y muchos de sus seguidores cre铆an que merec铆a otro premio Nobel adicional.
"La influencia de Bob en la macroeconom铆a no puede ser exagerada", dijo Robert Shimer, director del Departamento de Econom铆a Kenneth C. Griffin de la Universidad de Chicago, en un comunicado. "Bob deja un legado revolucionario de investigaci贸n, ense帽anza y liderazgo que ha transformado el campo de la econom铆a", agreg贸.
Lucas fue galardonado con el Nobel por su desarrollo y aplicaci贸n de la hip贸tesis de las expectativas racionales, que transform贸 el an谩lisis macroecon贸mico y profundiz贸 nuestra comprensi贸n de la pol铆tica econ贸mica, seg煤n la justificaci贸n de la Academia.
Su enfoque sosten铆a que los responsables pol铆ticos no pueden asumir que sus acciones producir谩n los resultados esperados, sino que deben considerar c贸mo afectar谩n las expectativas de las personas. Por ejemplo, su trabajo sugiri贸 que ciertas pol铆ticas destinadas a reducir el desempleo podr铆an ser contraproducentes al aumentar las expectativas de inflaci贸n. Sus tesis representaron una enmienda parcial al keynesianismo y su defensa de la intervenci贸n estatal en la econom铆a, lo que revolucion贸 la metodolog铆a de la macroeconom铆a y puso de relieve variables que hab铆an sido relegadas a la microeconom铆a.
"Descanse en paz Robert Lucas. Fue un profesor maravilloso, un pensador profundo y un escritor incre铆blemente claro y perspicaz. Siempre estuvo obsesionado con las ideas y siempre profundiz贸 en ellas", escribi贸 en Twitter el economista espa帽ol Luis Garicano, quien fue alumno de Lucas.
Lucas naci贸 en Yakima, Washington, en 1937. Despu茅s de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, su padre encontr贸 trabajo como soldador en una empresa de refrigeraci贸n y se convirti贸 en presidente de la compa帽铆a. Lucas se gradu贸 en la Universidad de Chicago, donde obtuvo su licenciatura en Historia y luego se doctor贸 en Econom铆a en 1964 bajo la tutela de Paul Samuelson y Milton Friedman. Trabaj贸, ense帽贸 e investig贸 en la Universidad Carnegie Mellon y luego en la Universidad de Chicago. Tuvo dos hijos con su primera esposa y desde 1982 convivi贸 con Nancy Stokes.
Adem谩s de su trabajo sobre las expectativas racionales, Lucas contribuy贸 significativamente al estudio del desarrollo econ贸mico y gener贸 una amplia investigaci贸n en la teor铆a del crecimiento. Sus contribuciones abarcaron temas como los efectos reales de la pol铆tica monetaria, la econom铆a urbana, el comercio internacional y los problemas econ贸micos din谩micos, entre otros, lo que llev贸 a muchos a creer que merec铆a otro Premio Nobel.
A pesar de las cr铆ticas recibidas, Lucas nunca admiti贸 haberse equivocado en su afirmaci贸n de que los macroeconomistas hab铆an resuelto el problema central de la prevenci贸n de las depresiones antes de la Gran Recesi贸n.
English Version
Robert Emerson Lucas Jr., one of the most influential economists of the past decades, passed away on Monday at the age of 85, as announced by colleagues and students on social media and confirmed by the University of Chicago, where he was a professor. Lucas was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1995 for his work on rational expectations, and many of his followers believed he deserved an additional Nobel Prize.
"The influence of Bob on macroeconomics cannot be overstated," said Robert Shimer, Director of the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at the University of Chicago, in a statement. "Bob leaves behind a revolutionary legacy of research, teaching, and leadership that has transformed the field of economics," he added.
Lucas received the Nobel Prize for his development and application of the hypothesis of rational expectations, which transformed macroeconomic analysis and deepened our understanding of economic policy, according to the justification by the Academy.
His approach argued that policymakers cannot assume that their actions will produce the expected results; instead, they must consider how they will affect people's expectations. For example, his work suggested that certain policies aimed at reducing unemployment could be counterproductive by increasing inflation expectations. His theses represented a partial amendment to Keynesianism and its defense of government intervention in the economy, revolutionizing the methodology of macroeconomics and highlighting variables that had been relegated to microeconomics.
"Rest in peace, Robert Lucas. He was a wonderful professor, a profound thinker, and an incredibly clear and insightful writer. He was always obsessed with ideas and always delved deeper," wrote Spanish economist Luis Garicano, who was a student of Lucas, on Twitter.
Lucas was born in Yakima, Washington, in 1937. After World War II, his father found work as a welder in a refrigeration company and eventually became the company's president. Lucas graduated from the University of Chicago, where he earned his bachelor's degree in History, and later obtained his doctorate in Economics in 1964 under the guidance of Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman. He worked, taught, and conducted research at Carnegie Mellon University and later at the University of Chicago. He had two children with his first wife, and since 1982, he lived with Nancy Stokes.
In addition to his work on rational expectations, Lucas made significant contributions to the study of economic development and sparked extensive research in the field of growth theory. His contributions covered topics such as the real effects of monetary policy, urban economics, international trade, and dynamic economic problems, among others, leading many to believe that he deserved another Nobel Prize.
Despite the criticism received, Lucas never admitted to being wrong in his assertion that macroeconomists had solved the central problem of preventing depressions prior to the Great Recession.
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