MEMORANDUM

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The “girl” was Estelle Marks Leontief, married to Wassily Leontief since 26 December 1932. 78
Enchanted at Harvard Leontief’s passage from being research associate at NBER to becoming professor at Harvard happened quickly and smoothly. It may also seem surprising that it went so smoothly as Leontief after all had never held a university position and as he lacked Habilitation he was not even qualified for one in Germany, and he had never published anything in English. Leontief accepted an offer from Harvard in March 1932, less than half a year into his one-year contractual period with NBER. The offer was for an instructor position from the coming academic year 1932/33 but it came with extra benefits, a promise of an assistant professorship within a year, and prospects for even more. Even at Harvard, there was as in Kiel and at NBER uncertainty due to the financial crisis, but only a touch. The offer Leontief accepted initiated a period of more than forty years as a professor at Harvard. But even after accepting Harvard’s offer Leontief he had not burnt the bridges for a return to Germany. But how and why did he come to Harvard’s attention so soon after arriving in USA? Did Schumpeter play a role behind the scene? Why was Harvard so eager? In general there was a premium at leading American universities on talented economists from Europe. But were there more specific reasons for Harvard’s interest. Who provided the president of Harvard with an assessment of Leontief as a good prospect to buy into? With regard to how Leontief came to Harvard’s attention, a pertinent fact is that after two-three weeks in America Leontief traveled from New York to Cambridge and spent three days at Harvard University. He was certainly not invited by Harvard University and he hardly had any acquaintances among the economists there. He had been in correspondence (barely) with W.L. Crum, who impressed with Versuch and was one of his references for the position at NBER, and with Elizabeth Gilboy who had written a review paper about the methods of the Versuch treatise. But it seems remote that either of them could have been involved. More likely does it seem that Edwin Gay, co-director of research with Mitchell at NBER when Leontief arrived and also professor of economic history at Harvard, invited the bright new research associate for a brief visit to Harvard. From Leontief’s account to Schumpeter of his meeting with Harvard in the beginning of October 1931 he was almost overwhelmed by the welcoming gestures he received from the new tribe he had become acquainted with. He seemed quite intrigued by the cordiality he was met with. Leontief’s observations of and reactions to Harvard were conveyed in letters to Schumpeter in Bonn from October 1931 to April 1932. On his return to New York from Harvard he wrote to Schumpeter: “All the economists are exceptionally kind to 79
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MEMORANDUM No 18/2016 Wassily Leont
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Rev-1, November 13, 2016 Wassily Le
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Others have touched upon the questi
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in 1925, or, for that matter, Germa
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the Leontief family within the trad
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From the beginning of 1905 Wassily
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passport issued just before he left
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finances. 26 Before he got the posi
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mostly civilians. 33 Needless to em
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Boisguilbert”. He stated further
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student had conveyed a very positiv
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“In his work, Leontief revealed e
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extended studies in Berlin, he has
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ecognized as equivalent to the Abit
Page 29 and 30: Kurt Breysig (b.1866) was historian
Page 31 and 32: years, we denote them by the key wo
Page 33 and 34: assertions there were further artic
Page 35 and 36: letter was returned after two days
Page 37 and 38: laws. In other words the candidate
Page 39 and 40: As the candidate remarks, this impo
Page 41 and 42: process was delayed. In September 1
Page 43 and 44: framework for applied demand and su
Page 45 and 46: observations would be sufficiently
Page 47 and 48: As soon as the July 1929 issue of W
Page 49 and 50: Leontief returned from Shanghai alo
Page 51 and 52: express myself clearer than that.
Page 53 and 54: on 9 September for Harvard and rema
Page 55 and 56: Economist with the Federal Farm Boa
Page 57 and 58: Leontief. He wrote to Irving Fisher
Page 59 and 60: e advisable to submit copies of all
Page 61 and 62: with interesting colleagues, die Ki
Page 63 and 64: times and received suggestions for
Page 65 and 66: very soon, before the end of April.
Page 67 and 68: progress. He then had a meeting wit
Page 69 and 70: Another emphasis in the article on
Page 71 and 72: current basis and expressed his wil
Page 73 and 74: Just as Leontief arrived NBER plung
Page 75 and 76: Leontief enjoyed New York. At Leont
Page 77 and 78: offer from Harvard may well have di
Page 79: Wassily Leontief is carrying out ce
Page 83 and 84: European man.” A vote was taken o
Page 85 and 86: Leontief had not yet published a si
Page 87 and 88: Leontief spoke to an audience at Ha
Page 89 and 90: Another Schumpeter initiative soon
Page 91 and 92: The outline was as follows: “The
Page 93 and 94: * * * One year later, in February 1
Page 95 and 96: I have just read the manuscript of
Page 97 and 98: Frisch to Leontief, 8 February 1934
Page 99 and 100: Schumpeter responded: “Dear Frisc
Page 101 and 102: Project a) was about the completion
Page 103 and 104: * * * Wassily and Estelle went on a
Page 105 and 106: several topics is very similar to t
Page 107 and 108: considered to illuminate the calcul
Page 109 and 110: The Structure of American Economy F
Page 111 and 112: term in Berkeley and the second in
Page 113 and 114: A part of the original Leontief man
Page 115 and 116: Bureaus post defense studies. 240 I
Page 117 and 118: Leontief Harvard period lasted unti
Page 119 and 120: Frisch, Ragnar. 1936. Annual survey
Page 121 and 122: Leontief, W. 1932. Studien über di
Page 123 and 124: Rutherford, Malcolm. 2004. Institut
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MEMORANDUM

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