| Born | October 21, 1942 Washington, D.C. |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Institution | Princeton University |
| Field | Macroeconomics Econometrics Time series |
| Alma mater |
Harvard University (A.B, PhD) |
| Opposed | "Structural" macroeconomic models |
| Contributions | Use of vector autoregression |
| Awards | Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2011) |
| Information at IDEAS/RePEc | |
Christopher Albert "Chris" Sims (born October 21, 1942) is an econometrician and macroeconomist. He is currently the Harold B. Helms Professor of Economics and Banking at Princeton University.[2] Together with Thomas Sargent, he won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2011.[3] The award cited their "empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy".[4]
Sims earned his A.B. in mathematics from Harvard University magna cum laude in 1963 and his PhD in Economics from Harvard in 1968. He has held teaching positions at Harvard, University of Minnesota, Yale University and, since 1999, Princeton. Sims is a Fellow of the Econometric Society (since 1974),[5] a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (since 1988) and a member of the National Academy of Sciences (since 1989). In 1995 he was the president of the Econometric Society. He will be the President-Elect of the American Economic Association in 2011 and then the President of the American Economic Association in 2012.
Sims published numerous important papers in his areas of research: econometrics and macroeconomic theory and policy. Among other things, he was one of the main promoters of the use of vector autoregression in empirical macroeconomics, and contributed to the development of Bayes estimators for vector autoregression.
He also helped develop the fiscal theory of the price level and the theory of rational inattention.
Translating his work into everyday language, Sims said it provided a technique to assess the direction of causality in central bank monetary policy. It confirmed the theories of monetarists like Milton Friedman that shifts in the money supply affect inflation. However, it also showed that causality went both ways. Variables like interest rates and inflation also led to changes in the money supply.[6]
Conservatives, like Wall Street Journal columnists, said that Sims' work refuted Keynes, and showed that government intervention won't work.[7]
But Sims and Sargent say their work is being misread. Both are longtime Democrats who maintain that government can, and should, play a role in economic affairs. They support many recent policies of the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve.[6]
Sargent said his most important work is spoken “in the beautiful language of math” and will not be understood by the public.[6]
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