The Tinbergen Institute takes its name from Jan Tinbergen (1903-1994), equally famous as a scholar and a public figure. He graduated in physics but immediately directed his attention to economic and social concerns, soon to become one of the founding fathers of econometrics of the 1930's.

He was the first to construct complete macro-economic models, first a rather simple one for the Netherlands, but already usable as a base for economic policy and later working for the League of Nations a more extensive one for the United States and during the second world war one for the United Kingdom. After 1945 as the first director of the Central Planbureau (a think tank on economic problems for the Dutch government) he became one of the foremost architects of Dutch post-war economic policy, his second major field. Leaving the bureau in 1955 he dedicated his energy entirely to the economic problems of the less developed countries and gave many advises to their governments.

His numerous writings owe their widespread appeal to their immediate relevance to practical problems and their clear presentation. He was awarded many national and international distinctions and in 1969 he shared the first Nobel prize in economics with Ragnar Frisch.

As a socialist, Tinbergen firmly believed that optimal economic and social conditions can be achieved by rational government policies. In later years - after 1960 - he applied these ideas to the economic world order, but to his disappointment his proposals met with little success. He continued to work and publish until his death, and died as a revered and widely honoured scholar and public figure at the age of 91.