Mordecai Ezekiel
Encyclopedia
Mordecai Joseph Brill Ezekiel (May 10, 1899 to October 31, 1974) was an American agrarian economist who worked for the United States government and the United Nations
for a number of years.
He is credited with formulating the details of what was to become the Agriculture Adjustment Administration, and helped prepare a draft of the Agricultural Adjustment Act
. After the November 1932 presidential election
, he also met with President-elect Franklin Roosevelt, Rexford Tugwell
, M. L. Wilson, and Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
, to discuss the farm policy of the new administration.
He was also an early and long time participant with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO).
Together with G.C. Haas, he helped describe the pork cycle
.
). He had two brothers, Walter Naphtali Ezekiel, a plant pathologist, and Raphael Ezekiel, a graduate of West Point, and one sister, Bertha Brill Ezekiel (Topkis).
Ezekiel was married to Lucille Finsterwald and they had three children: David Jonathan and Margot. He was also the uncle of the Hebrew poet Yosef Yehezkel.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
for a number of years.
He is credited with formulating the details of what was to become the Agriculture Adjustment Administration, and helped prepare a draft of the Agricultural Adjustment Act
Agricultural Adjustment Act
The Agricultural Adjustment Act was a United States federal law of the New Deal era which restricted agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies not to plant part of their land and to kill off excess livestock...
. After the November 1932 presidential election
Presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is president.- United States :The United States has elections on the state and local levels...
, he also met with President-elect Franklin Roosevelt, Rexford Tugwell
Rexford Tugwell
Rexford Guy Tugwell was an agricultural economist who became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust," a group of Columbia academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to Roosevelt's 1932 election as President...
, M. L. Wilson, and Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
Henry Morgenthau, Jr. was the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He played a major role in designing and financing the New Deal...
, to discuss the farm policy of the new administration.
He was also an early and long time participant with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
(FAO).
Together with G.C. Haas, he helped describe the pork cycle
Pork cycle
In economics, the term pork cycle, hog cycle, or cattle cycle describes the phenomenon of cyclical fluctuations of supply and prices in livestock markets...
.
Personal
Born in Richmond, VA, he was the son of Jacob and Rachel Brill Ezekiel (who had been a secretary to the suffragist Carrie Chapman CattCarrie Chapman Catt
Carrie Chapman Catt was a women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920...
). He had two brothers, Walter Naphtali Ezekiel, a plant pathologist, and Raphael Ezekiel, a graduate of West Point, and one sister, Bertha Brill Ezekiel (Topkis).
Ezekiel was married to Lucille Finsterwald and they had three children: David Jonathan and Margot. He was also the uncle of the Hebrew poet Yosef Yehezkel.
Education
- Graduated in 1918 from the Maryland Agricultural College with a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture.
- Graduated in 1923 from the University of MinnesotaUniversity of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
with a Master of Science degree. - Graduated in 1926 from the Robert Brookings Graduate SchoolBrookings InstitutionThe Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
of Economics and Government with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in economics. - Traveled abroad as a Guggenheim Fellow from September, 1930 to September, 1931.
Positions held
- 1930-1933 - Assistant Chief Economist for the Federal Farm Board
- 1933-1944 - Economic Advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture
- 1943 - helped plan the Hot Springs Food Conference
- 1944-1947 - Economic Advisor in the Bureau of Agriculture Economics
- 1944 - served as a member of the United Nations Interim Commission on Food and Agriculture
- 1945 - served as a member of two of the FAO's first field missions to Greece and Poland.
- 1947-1962 - at FAO: Economist in charge of the Economic Analysis Branch, Deputy Director of the Economics Division, Head of the Economics Department, Assistant Director General in charge of the Economics Department, and Special Assistant to the Director General
- 1962-1967 - Chief of the United Nations Division of the United States Agency for International DevelopmentUnited States Agency for International DevelopmentThe United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...