John Meyer

John Meyer was the James W. Harpel Professor of Capital Formation and Economic Growth at the Harvard Kennedy School. One of the leading urban economists of his generation, Meyer was a professor at Harvard Business School and in the economics departments of Harvard and Yale, and also served as president of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He was a consultant to the National Transportation Policy Study Commission from 1977 to 1979, and served as vice chairman and board member of Union Pacific Railroad. In addition to serving as interim co-director of the Center, he chaired its Faculty Committee from 1997 to 2003. A prolific writer, he authored many books including The Urban Transportation Problem (co-authored with John Kain and Martin Wohl), Autos, Transit, and Cities (co-authored with Jose Gomez-Ibanez), and The Role of Industrial and Post-Industrial Cities in Economic Development. Each year, the Center awards fellowships named for Meyer to Harvard doctoral students who are writing a thesis on a housing-related topic.