Lloyd Appleton Metzler was an American economist best known for his contributions to international trade

International trade

International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product...

 theory. He was born at Lost Springs

Lost Springs, Kansas

Lost Springs is a city in Marion County, Kansas, United States. It was named for the old lost spring near the city. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 70.-19th century:...

, Kansas in 1913. Although most of his career was spent at the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

, he was not a member of the Chicago school, but rather a Keynesian

Keynesian economics

Keynesian economics is a school of macroeconomic thought based on the ideas of 20th-century English economist John Maynard Keynes.Keynesian economics argues that private sector decisions sometimes lead to inefficient macroeconomic outcomes and, therefore, advocates active policy responses by the...

. The Economics department at the University of Chicago at that time was a fairly contentious place.

Lloyd was the youngest son of Leroy and Lulu Appleton Metzler, who were both schoolteachers and both had college degrees. All three of the boys attended the University of Kansas at Lawrence, Kansas. Leroy was a Civil engineer, and Donald became the head of the Engineering department and served as mayor of Lawrence. Lloyd was heading for a degree and career in business until he fell under the tutelage of John Ise (http://www.washburn.edu/reference/cks/mapping/ise/) who convinced him to switch to Economics and who was a life-long hero.

After graduation, Metzler received his PhD in Economics at Harvard University, where he became great friends with Paul Samuelson.

Metzler worked post-World War II with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in Washington DC, and spent much of that time working on post war reconstruction in Europe.

Metzler was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship

Guggenheim Fellowship

Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...

 in 1942 upon completing his PhD at Harvard

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. He was made a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association

American Economic Association

The American Economic Association, or AEA, is a learned society in the field of economics, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It publishes one of the most prestigious academic journals in economics: the American Economic Review...

 in 1968.

In the early 1950s Metzler's career was severely impacted by the discovery of a brain tumor, and several surgeries. He continued to teach for another 20 years at the University of Chicago.

The Metzler paradox

Metzler paradox

In economics, the Metzler paradox is the theoretical possibility that the imposition of a tariff on imports may reduce the relative internal price of that good. It was proposed by Lloyd Metzler in 1949 upon examination of tariffs within the Heckscher–Ohlin model...

 as well as Metzler matrices bear his name.

Notable Students

• Arnold C. Harberger - Chief Economic Advisor, USAID and former president of the American Economic Association