Staehle, Hans (1903–1961)

Abstract

Statistician and applied economist, whose work on the theory and application of index numbers to the problem of cost of living comparisons and on the theoretical and empirical study of cost functions is likely to be that by which he will remain best known, Staehle spent most of his professional career in research for international organizations. Between 1930 and 1939 he was an economist for the International Labour Office at Geneva, 1946–7 he was with the IMF, he then returned to Geneva to take up the post of director of statistical research for the UN Economic Commission for Europe (1947–53), and thereafter he led the Trade Intelligence Division of GATT until his death in January 1961. During the second world war he taught economics in the USA, mainly in the capacity of visiting lecturer at Harvard.