Introduction
Murray Lew Weidenbaum (10 February 1927 – 20 March 2014), was an American economist and author. He was the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor and Honorary Chairman of the Murray Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis. He has served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy (1969–1971).He was chairman of President Ronald Reagan's first Council of Economic Advisors from 1981 to 1982.
Biography
Weidenbaum was born to a Jewish family in the Bronx. He received a B.B.A. from City College of New York, an M.A. from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University with thesis titled Government Spending: Process and Measurement. He became a faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis in 1964 and was chair of the economics department from 1966 to 1969. In 1975 he helped found the Center for the Study of American Business at Washington University, which was later renamed the Weidenbaum Center in his honor.
Weidenbaum did extensive research on the role of the Overseas Chinese bamboo network in Southeast Asia. He explores the topic in his book The Bamboo Network: How Expatriate Chinese Entrepreneurs are Creating a New Economic Superpower in Asia.
Weidenbaum died on 20 March 2014, at his home in Clayton, Missouri, at 87.