James Ball (economist)


Sir Robert James Ball was a British economist, former principal of the London Business School from 1972-1984 and a leader in the field of econometric modeling.

Work

Ball was co-creator of the Oxford Econometric Model along with Lawrence Klein which led to an "explosion" of macroeconometric forecasting.

Time at the London Business School

Ball joined LBS in 1964 as a professor of economics after having been recruited by Harold Rose, emeritus professor of Finance. According to LBS Professor of Management Practice in Accounting Sir Andrew Likierman, Ball's presence as the "King of Forecasting" at LBS greatly changed the reputation of Business schools in the UK in the 1970s. Ball also launched the first Executive MBA program of its kind in the UK in 1982 and fundraised for the development of the Plowden building at LBS’s London Campus.

Other positions

Ball was a trustee of The Economist. He served on the Board of Governors for the Centre for Economic Policy Research. He was the Chairman of Legal & General Group from 1979 to 1994.

Honors and awards

In June 1984 he was awarded a Knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours. In 1994, the book Money, Inflation and Employment: Essays in Honour of James Ball was published to celebrate his contribution to the field of econometric modeling.

Death

Sir James Ball died on 15 January 2018, aged 84.