Israeli Economist Prof. Asaf Razin Dies at 85 After Influential Career

Professor Asaf Razin, one of Israel's leading economists, passed away at the age of 85. Born in Kibbutz Shamir, Razin was severely injured during his military service and recognized as a disabled IDF veteran. He earned his doctorate from the University of Chicago with a focus on human capital investment and economic growth before returning to teach at Tel Aviv University. Razin held several key academic positions including head of the Economics Department, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and deputy rector at Tel Aviv University, and also taught at Cornell University in New York.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Razin served as head of the Economic Planning Authority at the Ministry of Finance and as the government's chief economic advisor. He warned the Menachem Begin government about the looming hyperinflation crisis in the early 1980s, but was dismissed after cautioning against the government's populist fiscal policies. Razin later advised major central banks worldwide, including those of the US, UK, Israel, and Hong Kong, and worked with the International Monetary Fund. He also served as president of the Israeli Economic Association.

Razin received the EMET Prize in Social Sciences: Economics in 2017 and was awarded a lifetime achievement honor by the Israeli Economic Association in 2025. In a 2018 interview, he described Israel as a unique economic success story, rising from a Third World country in 1948 to a mid-ranking member of the OECD within 70 years. He attributed this to Israel's export success, immigration from the former Soviet Union, and integration into global high-tech investment markets.