Peter J. N. Sinclair
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Peter James Niven Sinclair (18 September 1946 – 31 March 2020)''Old Greshamian Club Address Book'' (Cheverton & Son Ltd., Cromer, 1999) p. 43 was a British economist. He was Professor, and subsequently Emeritus Professor, in Economics at the
University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...
. Previously, he had been a fellow and tutor at
Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...
.


Early life and education

Sinclair grew up in London and
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
and was educated at
Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...
and the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, where he gained his BA and doctorate. His first job was in the export department of
Linde AG Linde is a global multinational chemical company and the world's largest industrial gas supplier by market share and revenue. Founded by German scientist and engineer Carl von Linde in 1879 in Wiesbaden, Germany, the company is now headquarter ...
in Germany. This sharpened his lifelong interest in international economics.


Career

Peter Sinclair taught at Oxford from 1970 to 1994, mainly in economic theory,
monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to affect monetary and other financial conditions to accomplish broader objectives like high employment and price stability (normally interpreted as a low and stable rat ...
and
international economics International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns an ...
, as fellow and tutor in Economics at
Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...
. In 1994 he became Professor of Economics at the University of Birmingham. He retired in 2012, but continued teaching as an Emeritus Professor until his illness and death in March 2020. Sinclair published widely on a range of topics in economics, including the optimal rate of inflation,
central bank independence Central bank independence refers to the degree of autonomy and freedom a central bank has in conducting its monetary policy and managing the financial system. It is a key aspect of modern central banking, and has its roots in the recognition that m ...
, the costs and benefits of
monetary union A currency union (also known as monetary union) is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any further integration (such as an economic and monetary union ...
, and international trade policy. He became Director of the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
's Centre for Central Banking Studies in 2000 where he taught central bank staff from all over the world, both in London and overseas. Sinclair maintained a connection with the Bank of England after leaving CCBS in 2008, including as a visiting academic, advising on research and teaching graduate entrants for many years. He also advised numerous overseas central banks. He contributed to a number of CCBS and Bank of England publications, including the Bank's Quarterly Bulletin, often providing an academic's perspective on contemporary monetary issues. He was the author of numerous articles and books on economics, one written with his first wife, the late economist Shelagh Heffernan, who was Professor of Banking and Finance at the
Cass Business School Bayes Business School, formerly known as Cass Business School, is the business school of City St George's, University of London, located in St Luke's, just to the north of the City of London. It was established in 1966. Bayes Business School ...
,
City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...
. His main research interests included inflation, unemployment, and tax questions, often in the open economy setting. He served as a consultant to the
Financial Services Authority The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 1985 ...
, the
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
and the
U.S. Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unem ...
. A visiting professor at the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...
and Queen's University in Canada, he also lectured in China, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lesotho, Poland, Russia, and the United States. He was visiting professor at the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
and
University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...
, and chairman of the
Royal Economic Society Easter School Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...
, and the International Economics Study Group. In 2016 he married the environmental artist, Jayne Ivimey. His non-economics interests included architecture, history, and languages.


Former students

Sinclair's most notable former student was
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
, who described Sinclair as "one of the cleverest people I ever met". Others include
King Letsie III Letsie III (born Mohato Bereng Seeiso; 17 July 1963) is King of Lesotho. He succeeded his father, Bereng Seeiso Moshoeshoe II, who was forced into exile in 1990. His father was briefly restored in 1995 but died in a car crash in early 1996, so ...
,
Camilla Cavendish Hilary Camilla Cavendish, Baroness Cavendish of Little Venice (born 20 August 1968) is a British journalist, contributing editor and columnist at ''The Financial Times'', senior fellow at Harvard University and former director of policy for Pr ...
,
Peter Conradi Peter Conradi is a British author and journalist who is the Europe Editor of ''The Sunday Times'' of London. Biography Conradi is the author of '' The Red Ripper: Inside the Mind of Russia's Most Brutal Serial Killer'' (about Andrei Chikatilo); ...
,
Diane Coyle Dame Diane Coyle (born 12 February 1961) is a British economist. Since March 2018, she has been the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, co-directing the Bennett Institute. Coyle's early career as an economist wa ...
,
Tim Harford Timothy Douglas Harford (born 27 September 1973) is an English economic journalist who lives in Oxford.Michelle D. Johnson,
Dave Ramsden Sir David Edward John Ramsden CBE (born 9 February 1964) is a British economist and has been Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking at the Bank of England since 4 September 2017. He was previously Chief Economic Adviser to HM Treasury and Head of ...
,
Guy Spier Guy Spier (; born February 4, 1966) is a Zurich-based Swiss-German-Israeli investor. He is the author of ''The Education of a Value Investor''. Spier is the manager of the Aquamarine Fund with $400 million in assets. He is well known for bidding ...
,
Abhisit Vejjajiva Abhisit Vejjajiva (; , , ; born 3 August 1964) is a Thai politician who was the 27th prime minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011. He was the leader of the Democrat Party from 2005 until he resigned following the party's weak performance in t ...
and a prominent Nepali economist and Asia Times opinion writer Bhim Bhurtel, Ross Bailey and Anthony Brown.


Death

Sinclair was admitted to hospital in March 2020 after contracting
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
; he died on 31 March 2020 aged 73.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Peter J. N. 1946 births 2020 deaths Academics of the University of Birmingham Academics of Bayes Business School Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford People educated at Gresham's School Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England 20th-century British economists 21st-century British economists Alumni of the University of Oxford People from Norfolk