Penn has monopoly on nat'l 1999 econ award

It seems that even the McNeil Building's maze of offices could not hide the academic prowess of two professors from the American Economics Association. In September, Economics Professor Alan Heston and Professor Emeritus Robert Summers were recognized as the 1999 Fellows -- also known as "Distinguished Scholars" -- of the Nashville, Tenn.-based association. Only two professors nationwide receive the annual honor. The award does not have a monetary component. John Siegfried, the AEA's secretary, said the honor goes to people whose research "contributes to the understanding of economics and the economy." "It's kind of neat," Siegfried said, referring to the fact that both of the fellows were professors from Penn this year. Both professors will be formally honored at an AEA conference in New York City in January. The professors received the award for their work on the Penn World Table, a computer program which allows users to compare the economic outputs of all the countries in the world through stored and continuously updated data. With the help of research grants from the National Science Foundation, Penn created a Center for International Comparisons in 1980. The center was instrumental in the creation of the Penn World Table. The program is now used all over the world by both economists and professors. Along with Economics Professor Irving Kravis, who died in 1992, Heston and Summers created the program, which allows for what Heston calls "the meaningful comparisons of economic outputs" such as a nation's gross domestic product. The program, the professors said, does more than merely allow for a comparison of the yen and the dollar. It can compile lists of countries, years and economic variables, allowing for the comparison of countries, as well as an analysis of how individual factors affected the economy. In addition to the many students who assisted in the creation of the program, the professors said that the University was an influential factor in their success. Heston, 63, conceded that "we wouldn't have been able to do what we did if we were not here." Although he acknowledged that the award is a personal honor, Heston said the project has had an enormous impact on Penn. He also praised the NSF for its continued support of the project. Without the help of the agency during "a period when financial support [for research] has been shrinking," the software would never have been created, Heston added. Heston, a graduate of the University of Oregon, received his doctorate from Yale University in 1962, and he began teaching at Penn shortly afterwards. Summers, 76, graduated from the University of Chicago and received his doctorate from Stanford, also in 1962. He began teaching in 1960 and retired in 1991, when he became professor emeritus, a term he jokingly said "lets me use the library and gym for free." The two have built a close friendship during their 26 year professional relationship. Such a friendship has greatly aided in the development of the program. "When we began, Professor Heston was much, much better than me at squash. Now he's much, much, much, much better," Summers said.