Biography
Born in the Soviet Union, the family moved to Poland where he attended a Jewish school. Later his family emigrated to Israel, where he completed elementary and high school. Initially he wanted to study engineering, but during his military service from 1963 to 1966 he decided to study economics. He graduated with a B.A. in economics and statistics from Tel Aviv University in 1969. He continued his education at Tel Aviv University and graduated with a M.A. in economics in 1971. He enrolled at Harvard University in 1971 and graduated with a Ph.D. in economics in 1974. He returned to Israel, where he was a lecturer and later a university professor from 1974 to 2004 at Tel Aviv University. Since 1997 he is also a professor of economics at Harvard University.
He was an active participant in Israeli policy debates, and was a member of the advisory board of the Bank of Israel, the Council for National Planning and the National Council for Research and Development. He is married to Ruth Helpman, who is a financial analyst. Together they have two daughters.
Read more about this topic: Elhanan Helpman
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