Milton Gilbert

Milton Gilbert (1909 – September 28 or 29, 1979) was an economist and finance expert who worked at the United States Department of Commerce, Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) and Bank for International Settlements.

Early life and education Gilbert was born in Philadelphia in 1909.

Career United States Department of Commerce (1941–1950) From 1941 to 1950, Gilbert was chief of the National Income Division of the United States Department of Commerce. Gilbert's view on the inclusion of government in GDP was heavily influenced by his cousin, the Keynesian economist and Harvard teacher Richard Gilbert, the director of the Defense Economic Section of the Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply (OPACS),

Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (Paris, France) (1951–1960) From 1951 to 1960, Gilbert worked as an economist at the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) in Paris, While there, he collaborated with Irving B. Kravis on An International Comparison of National Products and the Purchasing Power of Currencies (1954), a pioneering work on international comparison of production and purchasing power. Gilbert co-authored further work along the same lines published in 1958. which in turn would lead to Real GDP Per Capita for More Than One Hundred Countries by Kravis, Alan W. Heston and Robert Summers in 1978, the first version of the Penn World Table.

Bank for International Settlements (Basel, Switzerland) (1960–1975) Gilbert served as Economic Adviser for the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland The book is available as a PDF from the website of Princeton University's International Economics Section.

Personal life Gilbert lived in Basel, Switzerland, after his retirement in 1975. He was planning his move back to the United States. While making arrangements, he died of a heart attack at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., on September 28 or 29, 1979.

Gilbert was survived by his wife Ruth, who was from Basel, three children, Arnold and Sheryl of Washington and Carla of San Diego, California, a brother Mort of San Diego, California, and one grandchild.