MEMORANDUM

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
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