Ann Friedlaender

Ann Fetter Friedlaender (1938–1992) was a noted American economist. Friedlaender held appointments in two MIT departments as Professor of Civil Engineering and Economics for the class of 1941. Dr Friedlaender was seen as an authority in the field of public finance, with a speciality in transportation studies. The first woman to head one of MIT's five schools, she served as Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Science from 1984 to 1990. After graduation, Friedlaender worked for one year in Finland as a Fulbright lecturer. In 1972, Friedlaender became a visiting professor at the MIT Department of Economics. In 1974, she was a professor at MIT's Department of Economics and Civil Engineering.

Friedlaender died of cancer at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston on October 19, 1992. Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1984–1990 Chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, 1978–1980 American Economic Association Executive Committee American Economic Association Vice President, 1987

Works and publications

The Interstate Highway System: A Study in Public Investment. Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1965. The Dilemma of Freight Transportation Regulation. Washington, DC: Brooking Institution, 1969. Government Finance: Economics of the Public Sector (with J.F. Due). 6th ed. Home wood, IL: R.D.Irwin, 1977. "A Derived Demand Function for Freight Transportation" (with R.H. Spady). Review of Economics and Statistics 62(3), August 1980:432-41. Freight Transport Regulation: Equity, Efficiency, and Competition in the Rail and Trucking Industries (with R.H. Spady). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1981. "Rail Costs and Capital Adjustments in a Quest-Regulated Environment" (with E.R. Berndt et al.). Journal of Transport Economics and Policy 27(2), May 1993:131-52. "Costs, Technology, and Productivity in the U.S. Automobile Industry". The Bell Journal of Economics 14(1), February 1983:1–20.