Leibenstein, Harvey (1922- )

Ukranian-born Canadian economist. His early work focused on development economics, especially in backward economies and in relation to population growth. He summed up his groundbreaking ideas in Economic Backwardness and Economic Growth (1957). His major contribution to economic theory was his ‘X-efficiency factor’, which took into account such elements as managerial skills and labour relations to explain productivity. First advanced in 1966, his theory was fully set forth in Beyond Economic Man (1976) and has since been applied to business organizations.

Leibenstein was born in Yanishpol, Ukraine, USSR. He emigrated as a child to Canada and moved to the USA to attend Northwestern University. After taking up teaching positions at Illinois Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and the University of California, Berkeley, he joined the faculty of Harvard University in 1967, achieving emeritus status in 1989. He also served in numerous other capacities: he was a visiting scholar or professor at many foreign universities and consultant to international and national organizations.