Frederic Michael Scherer (born 1932 in

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi Riv ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and expert on

industrial organization In economics, industrial organization is a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure of (and, therefore, the boundaries between) firms and market (economics), markets. Industrial organization adds real-world complic ...

. Since 2006, he continues as a professor of economics at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University.

Early and family life

Scherer received his A.B. degree with honors and distinction from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and his M.B.A. with high distinction from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1958 and his PhD in economics from Harvard in 1963. He is married to Barbara Silbermann Scherer, and the couple have three children and eight grandchildren.

Career

Scherer served as the chief economist for the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

in 1974-76. He has taught at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...

, the

University of Bayreuth A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

and the

Central European University Central European University (CEU) is a private research university accredited in Austria, Hungary, and the United States, with campuses in Vienna and Budapest. The university is known for its highly intensive programs in the social sciences and ...

. Since 2006 Scherer has been Emeritus Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management in the Aetna Chair, in the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. His research specialties include

industrial economics In economics, industrial organization is a field that builds on the theory of the firm by examining the structure of (and, therefore, the boundaries between) firms and markets. Industrial organization adds real-world complications to the perfe ...

and the economics of

technological change Technological change (TC) or technological development is the overall process of invention, innovation and diffusion of technology or processes.From ''The New Palgrave Dictionary otechnical change by S. Metcalfe. •biased and biased techn ...

, on which he has many much-cited publications, including the books listed below, and the articles in His 1971 textbook on Industrial Organization has gone through many editions, and Scherer still participates on the advisory board for the scholarly magazine of the same name. Scherer has also published recently concerning patent policy reform. Upon the death of

Thomas McCraw Thomas Kincaid McCraw (September 11, 1940 – November 3, 2012) was an American business historian and Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, Emeritus at Harvard Business School, who won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for History for '' Prophets ...

, Scherer may be the scholar with the most expertise concerning the theories of former Harvard professor

Joseph Schumpeter Joseph Alois Schumpeter (; February 8, 1883 – January 8, 1950) was an Austrian-born political economist. He served briefly as Finance Minister of German-Austria in 1919. In 1932, he emigrated to the United States to become a professor at Ha ...

, about whom he has made a series of YouTube videos.

Honors

Scherer received the first "Distinguished Fellow Award" from the Industrial Organization Society in 1999; the second was Jean Tirole, who later received the Nobel Prize in 2014 for his work in industrial organization. Scherer also received an honorary doctorate from the

University of Hohenheim The University of Hohenheim (german: Universität Hohenheim) is a campus university located in the south of Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1818, it is Stuttgart's oldest university. Its primary areas of specialisation had traditionally been ...

, Germany. He served as the 3rd president of the Industrial Organization Society, as well as of the International Joseph A. Schumpeter Society, and vice president of the American Economic Association and of the Southern Economic Association. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Antitrust Institute in 2002.

Publications

*Frederic M. Scherer, ''Monopolies, Mergers and Competition Policy'' (Edward Elgar Pub) March 30, 2018 *Frederic M. Scherer, ''Quarter Notes and Bank Notes: The Economics of Music Composition in the 18th and 19th Centuries'' (Princeton University Press, 2004). *Frederic M. Scherer, ''Competition Policy, Domestic and International'' (Edward Elgar, 2001). *Frederic M. Scherer, ''New Perspectives on Economic Growth and Technological Innovation'' (Brookings Institution, 1999). *Frederic M. Scherer, ''Industry Structure, Strategy, and Public Policy'' (Harper Collins, 1996). . *Frederic M. Scherer, ''Competition Policies for an Integrated World Economy'' (Brookings Institution, 1994). *Frederic M. Scherer and David J. Ravenscraft, ''International High-Technology Competition; Competition Policies for an Integrated World Economy; Mergers, Sell-offs, and Economic Efficiency'' (Harvard University Press, 1992). *Frederic M. Scherer and David Ross,

970 Year 970 (Roman numerals, CMLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 970th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' designations, the 970th year of the 1st millennium, ...

1990. ''Industrial Market Structure and Economic Performance'', 3rd ed. Houghton-Mifflin
Description
and 1st ed. revie
extract
*Frederic M. Scherer and David J. Ravenscraft, ''Mergers, Sell-offs, and Economic Efficiency'' (Brookings Institution, 1987). *Frederic M. Scherer, Innovation and Growth: Schumpeterian Perspectives(MIT Press, 1984). *Frederic M. Scherer, ''The Economic Effects of Compulsory Patent Licensing'' (New York University Monograph Series in Finance and Economics, 1977). *Frederic M. Scherer with Alan Beckenstein, Erich Kaufer, and R. D. Murphy, ''The Economics of Multi-Plant Operation: An International Comparisons Study'' (Harvard University Press, 1975). *Frederic M. Scherer, ''Industrial Market Structure and Economic Performance'' (first ed. 1970; second ed. 1980; third ed. (with David Ross) 1990; Houghton Mifflin). *Frederic M. Scherer, ''Focal Point Pricing and Conscious Parallelism" (The Antitrust Bulletin: the Journal of American and Foreign Antitrust & Trade Regulation, p. 495-503, Vol 12, 1967) *Frederic M. Scherer and M. J. Peck, ''The Weapons Acquisition Process: Economic Incentives'' (Harvard Business School Division of Research, 1964). *Frederic M. Scherer and M. J. Peck, ''The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis'' (Harvard Business School Division of Research, 1962).

References

External links

Homepage of Frederic M. Scherer at John F. Kennedy School of Government
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scherer, Frederick M. Economists from Illinois 1932 births Living people University of Michigan alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Michigan faculty Princeton University faculty Swarthmore College faculty Harvard Kennedy School faculty Northwestern University faculty People from Ottawa, Illinois Harvard Business School alumni