Bennett Harrison (June 27, 1942 Jersey City – January 17, 1999, Brooklyn Heights) was a leading radical political economist, writer, musician, songwriter.Among his academic appointments was professor of political economy at MIT, Boston.Harrison held posts at Harvard University, New School for Social Research, and Carnegie Mellon University.Harrison taught in universities in Italy and Japan.
Bennett published a book in 1994, Lean and Mean, challenging a widely held belief that small and medium firms or businesses are responsible for the majority of economic innovation, growth and job creation.
Economist Barry Bluestone joined him in writing this and other books in the 1980s and 1990s. The writers frequently wrote on deindustrialization, urban economic planning, racism, inequality and radical economic policies.
His father was Leo Harrison, while his sister is Deborah Harrison Kuperman. His great nephew is the world renowned Jacob Kuperman.