Martin Weitzman

Weitzman received a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics from Swarthmore College in 1963. He went on to receive an M.S. in Statistics and Operations Research from Stanford University in 1964, and then attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he received a Ph.D. in Economics in 1967. Weitzman first joined the Yale University faculty, in 1967, moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, before joining the economics department at Harvard University in 1989, where he taught until his death in 2019. In 2005 Weitzman was arrested on charges of stealing manure from a farm in Rockport MA. The 98-year-old farmer accused Weitzman of multiple manure thefts from the farm. In return for dismissal of the charges Weitzman agreed to pay the farmer $600 and to make an additional $300 charitable donation in lieu of performing community service. Weitzman died by suicide on August 27, 2019 at the age of 77.

Weitzman published over 90 papers, many of which appeared in economics journals. Several of his papers are listed below. His last paper was published in 2019.

Weitzman began his teaching career in 1967 as an assistant professor of economics at Yale University. Three years later Weitzman was promoted to associate professor, and he remained in this position until 1972 when he joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an associate professor. In 1974, Weitzman became a professor at MIT, where he taught until 1989. From 1986 to 1989, Weitzman was recognized as a Mitsui professor at MIT. In 1989, Weitzman became an Ernest E. Monrad Professor of Economics at Harvard University and has remained in this position for the last 18 years. He taught two graduate courses: Ec2680 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics and Ec2690, Environmental Economics and Policy Seminar.

Martin Lawrence Weitzman (April 1, 1942 – August 27, 2019) was an economist and a professor of economics at Harvard University. He was among the most influential economists in the world according to Research Papers in Economics (RePEc). His latest research was largely focused on environmental economics, specifically climate change and the economics of catastrophes.

A New York Times obituary details how Weitzman "was born Meyer Levinger on April 1, 1942, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to Joseph and Helen (Tobias) Levenger. His mother died before he was 1; his father, after returning from military service in World War II, was apparently unable to care for the child, and he was placed in an orphanage. His adoptive parents, Samuel and Fannie (Katzelnick) Weitzman, who were elementary-school teachers, gave him the name Martin Lawrence Weitzman."