Béla Balassa was a Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 economist

Economist

An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

 and world-renowned professor at Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

; most famous for his work on the relationship between purchasing power parity and cross-country productivity differences (Balassa-Samuelson effect

Balassa-Samuelson effect

The Balassa–Samuelson effect, also known as Harrod–Balassa–Samuelson effect , the Ricardo–Viner–Harrod–Balassa–Samuelson–Penn–Bhagwati effect , productivity biased purchasing power parity and the rule of five eights is either of two related things:#The observation that consumer price levels...

).

Balassa received a law degree from the University of Budapest

University of Budapest

The Eötvös Loránd University or ELTE, founded in 1635, is the largest university in Hungary, located in Budapest.-History:The university was founded in 1635 in Nagyszombat by the archbishop and theologian Péter Pázmány. Leadership was given over to the Jesuits...

. He left Hungary after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and went to Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. While there, he received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to study at Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

, where he received M.A.

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 and Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 degrees in economics in 1958 and 1959, respectively. He won the John Addison Porter

John Addison Porter

John Addison Porter was an American Professor of Chemistry. He was born in Catskill, New York and died in New Haven, Connecticut...

Prize for 1959.

Beyond economics, Balassa was a noted gourmet who compiled and periodically updated an unofficial guide to eating well in Paris while remaining within an international agency expense allowance, which circulated among his friends and colleagues.

Biography

• 1962–1967 teaching assistant at Yale University
• 1966–1991 Professor at Johns Hopkins University
• 1966– Advisor, the World Bank
• 1970–1971 editor of REStat; chairman of the Association of Comparative Economics
• 1979–1980 chairman of the Association of Comparative Economic Studies
• 1980 Institut de France, Laureate