Jan Švejnar (born October 2, 1952) is a United States-based, Czech-born economist. He was a candidate for the 2008 election of the

President of the Czech Republic The president of the Czech Republic, constitutionally defined as the President of the Republic (), is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The presidency has largely bee ...

. Professor Švejnar is director of the Center on Global Economic Governance and professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University. He is also a founder and chairman of

CERGE-EI The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education – Economics Institute, known as CERGE-EI () is an academic institution in Prague, Czech Republic, specialised in economics. The institute is a partnership between the Center for Economic R ...

in Prague (a joint workplace of the

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

and Economics Institute of the

Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic The Czech Academy of Sciences (abbr. CAS, , abbr. AV ČR) was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and its tradition goes back to the Royal Bohemian Society of ...

that offers an American-style Ph.D. program in economics that educates the new generation of economists for Central-

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

Europe and the Newly Independent States). He also served as the chairman of the Supervisory Board of ČSOB Bank (until November 2007) and co-editor of the ''Economics of Transition''. Since 2007, he is a member of the International Advisory Council of the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE). He is also a Fellow of the

European Economic Association The European Economic Association (EEA) is a learned society, professional academic body which links European economists. It was founded in the mid-1980s. Its first annual congress was in 1986 in Vienna and its first president was Jacques Drèze. ...

and research fellow of the

Centre for Economic Policy Research The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) is an independent, non-partisan, pan-European non-profit organisation. It aims to enhance the quality of policy decisions through providing policy-relevant research, based soundly in economic schola ...

(London) and Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA, Bonn).

Life

Švejnar went into exile in 1970 and later on graduated from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

with a B.S in industrial and labor relations. At Cornell, Švejnar resided at the

Telluride House The Telluride House, formally the Cornell Branch of the Telluride Association (CBTA), and commonly referred to as just "Telluride", is a highly selective residential community of Cornell University students and faculty. Founded in 1910 by Amer ...

. He obtained a Ph.D. in economics at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. His academic interests are in the areas of economic development and transition, labor economics and behavior of the firm. His research focuses on the determinants and effects of (a) government policies on firms and labor and capital markets, (b) corporate and national governance and performance, and (c) entrepreneurship. He is the author and editor of a number of books and has published in academic, policy and practitioner-oriented journals in advanced and emerging market economies, including ''the

American Economic Review The ''American Economic Review'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal first published by the American Economic Association in 1911. The current editor-in-chief is Erzo FP Luttmer, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College. The journal is ...

Econometrica ''Econometrica'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of economics, publishing articles in many areas of economics, especially econometrics. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Econometric Society. The current editor-in-chief is ...

, Economica,

Economics of Transition A transition economy or transitional economy is an economy which is changing from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. Transition economies undergo a set of structural transformations intended to develop market-based institutions. T ...

, European Business Forum,

European Economic Review The ''European Economic Review'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers research in economics. The journal was established in 1969 and the editors-in-chief are Evi Pappa (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid), David K. Levine (Royal Holloway U ...

Journal of Comparative Economics The ''Journal of Comparative Economics'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier on behalf of the Association for Comparative Economic Studies. It was established in 1977 and the editors-in-chief are Ruben Enikolopov ( ...

Journal of Development Economics The ''Journal of Development Economics'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier. It was established in 1974 and is considered the top field journal in development economics. Its editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC ...

'', and many others. In 2012, Švejnar was honored with a Neuron Prize for lifelong achievement from the Karel Janeček Endowment for Research and Science.

Run for Czech presidency

On December 14, 2007, he announced his candidacy for the position of

Czech president The president of the Czech Republic, constitutionally defined as the President of the Republic (), is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The presidency has largely bee ...

in the upcoming indirect presidential election. His nomination came from a proposal of 10 Senators (party affiliation –

KDU-ČSL KDU-ČSL (In Czech language, Czech, the initials of the Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party; ), often shortened to ("the populars"), is a Christian democracy, Christian democratic list of political parties in the Czec ...

: 2,

ČSSD Social Democracy (, SOCDEM), known as the Czech Social Democratic Party (, ČSSD) until 10 June 2023, is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in the Czech Republic, political party in the Czech Republic. Sitting on t ...

: 3, SNK-ED: 1, independent: 4). In Parliament, his support was generally based on the Deputies and Senators elected for the

Czech Social Democratic Party Social Democracy (, SOCDEM), known as the Czech Social Democratic Party (, ČSSD) until 10 June 2023, is a social democratic political party in the Czech Republic. Sitting on the centre-left of the political spectrum and holding pro-European ...

(ČSSD) and the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

. On February 8, 2008, Švejnar faced

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

, at that time the incumbent Czech president, in the first round of presidential election held within the two chambers of the Czech Parliament. In a second round on February 9, 2008, neither candidate gained the required majority of 140 votes in both chambers together.

received 139 and Jan Švejnar 113 votes out of 278 votes cast in both chambers together. In a third round on February 15, Klaus was re-elected with 141 votes out of 279 lawmakers present, one more than the required minimum, while Švejnar received 111 votes. Klaus' victory margin was supplied by 3 MPs who were elected for the ČSSD.

Decorations

Awarded by Czech Republic * Medal of Merit (2024)

References

External links

Biography at the University of Michigan

Biography at SIPA, Columbia University
* * (The Michigan Daily)
Czech president probably not chosen in election
(Czech Press Agency) {{DEFAULTSORT:Svejnar, Jan 1952 births Living people 20th-century Czech economists Czechoslovak expatriates in the United States Cornell University alumni University of Michigan faculty Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy faculty Politicians from Prague University of Pittsburgh faculty Candidates in the 2008 Czech presidential election Czech Social Democratic Party presidential candidates Mayors and Independents presidential candidates Green Party (Czech Republic) presidential candidates Czech agnostics Fellows of the European Economic Association Columbia University faculty 21st-century Czech economists Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic)