In good intellectual company: how Judith Tendler interpreted and extended Albert Hirschman's tradition

Abstract

Many associate Judith Tendler to her more famous teacher and mentor Albert Hirschman. This article contrasts her intellectual figure against the background of Hirschman’s world famous ideas and methods, describing her main contributions to this tradition. For more than 40 years Tendler has worked in development economics first as a research analyst and advisor to international development agencies; subsequently as a university professor at the MIT department of planning. Her academic and professional production prove in real world situations the usefulness of Hirschman’s main economic constructs - linkages, inducement mechanisms, and latitude in performance - as tools for policy evaluation, analysis and design. The very personal methods she employed in research and professional work testify how this approach re-interprets the figure of the policy maker, requiring from her higher competence, creativity, and sophistication.