Altman, Oscar Louis

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ALTMAN, OSCAR LOUIS

ALTMAN, OSCAR LOUIS (1909–1968), U.S. economist and treasurer of the International Monetary Fund. Altman, who was born in New York, was educated at Cornell University and at the University of Chicago. He began to work as an economist for the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1936 and was its senior economist from 1938 to 1940. During World War ii he was the principal economist of the National Resources Planning Board and served as an officer in the United States Air Force. After heading the analysis and planning office of the French Supply Council, he joined the International Monetary Fund, and in 1966 was appointed the Fund's treasurer. Altman's main interest was international liquidity problems, and he was one of the first economists to understand the significance of the Eurodollar market. He published numerous papers on both these issues.

[Joachim O. Ronall]

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