Victor Zarnowitz, Senior Fellow and Economic Counselor to The Conference Board, Dies at 89

Press Release / News

Feb. 24, 2009

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Victor Zarnowitz, one of the world's leading authorities on business cycles, business indicators, and forecast evaluation, died on Feb. 21, 2009, in New York City. He was 89.

Dr. Zarnowitz was Senior Fellow and Economic Counselor to The Conference Board in New York, where he worked since 1999. He was also Professor Emeritus of Economics and Finance, Graduate School of Business, The University of Chicago, and Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research.

Dr. Zarnowitz was one of the six economists who decide officially that the United States is in a recession. From the 1950s, he helped develop tools to measure and analyze business cycles around the world, and guided The Conference Board Business Cycle Indicators program's expansion to include Leading Economic Indexes for 10 countries and regions.

Journalists and peers sought Dr. Zarnowitz's expertise on global economic developments over the course of six decades. He worked five days a week at The Conference Board until the day before he died. In October 2008, he was recognized with the Isaac Kerstenetzky Life Achievement award from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Brazil.

Dr. Zarnowitz was born on Nov. 3, 1919, in the small town of Lancut in southeastern Poland. He fled his hometown of Oswiecim just ahead of the Nazi invasion in September 1939, was imprisoned in a Soviet labor camp, and immigrated to Germany after the war to earn his Ph.D. summa cum laude at the University of Heidelberg. The Zarnowitz family came to the United States in 1952, settled initially in New York and moved to Chicago in 1959.

Dr. Zarnowitz was the recipient of many awards and honors and was the author of Business Cycles: Theory, History, Indicators and Forecasting. He recently published his memoirs, Fleeing the Nazis, Surviving the Gulag, and Arriving in the Free World. Upon the book's publication, Gail D. Fosler, President of The Conference Board, said: "Victor reminds us all that the power of the human spirit can carry us forward even in the midst of overwhelming adversity. This book is an inspiration to all of us who at one time or another will be called upon to succeed amidst overwhelming circumstances, and is a testament to Victor's will, character, and extreme talents."

Dr. Zarnowitz's wife, Lena, died in 2000. They are survived by two sons, Arthur (Sally) of San Jose, California, and Steven (Jill Margolick) of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and three grandchildren, Ray and Walter Zarnowitz of San Jose and Katie Zarnowitz of Ann Arbor.

For further information contact:
Frank Tortorici
(1) 212 339 0231
f.tortorici@conference-board.org