Horst Siebert (20 March 1938 – 2 June 2009) was a German

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 ...

. He was a member of the

German Council of Economic Experts The German Council of Economic Experts (German: ') is a group of economists set up in 1963 to evaluate economic policies of the German government. In the media, the council is often referred to as the "Five Sages of Economy" (''Fünf Wirtschafts ...

from 1990 to 2003. Siebert also served as a member of both the Group of Economic Analysis (GEA) and the Group of Economic Policy Analysis (GEPA), a number of "European economists who advise the European Commission’s president." From 2002 to 2004, as a member of GEA, he advised EU President

Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...

. From 2005 to 2007, as a member of GEPA, he advised EU President

Jose Manuel Barroso Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean * Jose ben Halaft ...

Siebert spent most of his academic career at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

, where he held the chair for

economic theory Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

from 1989 to 2003. A native of

Neuwied Neuwied (, ) is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the Neuwied (district), District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

, Siebert studied economics at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

(1959–1963), while also studying, and undertaking research in, economics at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

(1960–1961). He earned his doctorate degree in economics from the

University of Münster The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's ...

in 1965. Siebert was appointed to the chair of economics and foreign trade at the

University of Mannheim The University of Mannheim (German: ''Universität Mannheim''), abbreviated UMA, is a public university, public research university in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1967, the university has its origins in the ''Palatine Aca ...

in 1969. He left in 1984 for the chair of economic relations at the

University of Konstanz The University of Konstanz () is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its main campus was opened on the Gießberg in 1972 after being founded in 1966. The university is Germany's southernmost university and is ...

. Five years later, Siebert was appointed to the chair of economic theory at the

. He was awarded the Ludwig-Erhard Prize in 1999, the

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic ...

in 2004, the Hayek Prize for excellence in economic writing in 2007. In his book entitled ''Der Kobra-Effekt. Wie man Irrwege der Wirtschaftspolitik vermeidet'', he illustrated the causes of

perverse incentive The phrase "perverse incentive" is often used in economics to describe an incentive structure with undesirable results, particularly when those effects are unexpected and contrary to the intentions of its designers. The results of a perverse in ...

s in economy and politics in referring to the so-called cobra effect. His other publications include: ''The German Economy, Beyond the Social Market'' (2005); ''The World Economy. A Global Analysis'' (2007, 3rd edition); ''Einführung in die Volkswirtschaftslehre'', co-author (2007); ''Economics of the Environment: Theory and Policy'' (2008, 7th revised edition; 2001 in Chinese); ''Rules for the Global Economy'' (2009). Siebert reportedly was a frequent contributor to academic journals and other publications. His seminal book, ''World Economics'' (1999, reprinted in 2000, 2nd edition 2002), "offered a new global perspective on international economic structures and processes." He was a visiting scholar at The Australian National University,

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral research-intensive university and an intergovernmental organisation with juridical personality, established by its founding member states to contribu ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT),

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, and the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

, among other institutions. He held the Heinz Nixdorf Chair in European Integration and Economic Policy at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies The School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C. The school also maintains campuses in Bologna, Italy and Nanjing, China. The school is devoted to the study of int ...

, Bologna Center. Siebert also served as President of the Kiel Institute for World Economics from 1989 to 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siebert, Horst 1938 births 2009 deaths German economists University of Cologne alumni Wesleyan University alumni University of Münster alumni Academic staff of the University of Kiel Academic staff of the University of Mannheim Academic staff of the University of Konstanz People from Neuwied Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts People from the Rhine Province