Sachs, Jeffrey D.

Sachs, Jeffrey D. (David) (1954–  ) economist; born in Detroit, Mich. On the Harvard faculty from 1980, a tenured full professor from 1983, he made his first contributions to international economics with his ideas on loan markets, labor markets, pricing, and hyperinflation. His ideas on streamlining budgets in developing countries drew him out of the academic groves to serve as an adviser to Bolivia (1986–90) and other Latin American governments. His successes there in turn led to his being hired as the architect of economic reform for Poland; the 1990 "Sachs Plan," which called for an immediate conversion to a capitalist economy, became highly controversial. Increasingly drawn to real-world, practical applications of his ideas, he became an adviser to the Russian Parliament under Boris Yeltsin and served as consultant to several international organizations.