astronomy

Jan Švejnar

Jan Švejnar is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Jan Švejnar rather than just read about it. In short: Jan Švejnar (born October 2, 1952) is a United States-based, Czech-born economist. He was a candidate for the 2008 election of the President of the Czech Republic.

Key takeaways

Jan Švejnar belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Jan Švejnar to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Jan Švejnar from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Jan Švejnar (born October 2, 1952) is a United States-based, Czech-born economist. He was a candidate for the 2008 election of the President of the Czech Republic. Professor Švejnar is Richard N. Gardner Professor of Economics and International Affairs and Director of the Center on Global Economic Governance at Columbia University . He is also a founder and chairman of CERGE-EI in Prague (a joint workplace of the Charles University in Prague and Economics Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic that offers an American-style Ph.D. program in economics that educates the new generation of economists for Central-East Europe and the Newly Independent States). He also served as the chairman of the supervisory board of ČSOB Bank (until November 2007) and co-editor of the Economics of Transition. Since 2007, he is a member of the International Advisory Council of the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE). He is also a Fellow of the European Economic Association and research fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (London) and Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA, Bonn).

Life Švejnar went into exile in 1970 and later on graduated from Cornell University with a B.S in industrial and labor relations. At Cornell, Švejnar resided at the Telluride House. He obtained a Ph.D. in economics at Princeton University. His academic interests are in the areas of economic development and transition, labor economics and behavior of the firm. His research focuses on the determinants and effects of (a) government policies on firms and labor and capital markets, (b) corporate and national governance and performance, and (c) entrepreneurship. He is the author and editor of a number of books and has published in academic, policy and practitioner-oriented journals in advanced and emerging market economies, including the American Economic Review, Econometrica, Economica, Economics of Transition, European Business Forum, European Economic Review, Journal of Comparative Economics, Journal of Development Economics, and many others. In 2012, Švejnar was honored with a Neuron Prize for lifelong achievement from the Karel Janeček Endowment for Research and Science.

Run for Czech presidency On December 14, 2007, he announced his candidacy for the position of Czech president in the upcoming indirect presidential election. His nomination came from a proposal of 10 Senators (party affiliation – KDU-ČSL: 2, ČSSD: 3, SNK-ED: 1, independent: 4). In Parliament, his support was generally based on the Deputies and Senators elected for the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) and the Green Party. On February 8, 2008, Švejnar faced Václav Klaus, at that time the incumbent Czech president, in the first round of presidential election held within the two chambers of the Czech Parliament. In a second round on February 9, 2008, neither candidate gained the required majority of 140 votes in both chambers together. Václav Klaus received 139 and Jan Švejnar 113 votes out of 278 votes cast in both chambers together. In a third round on February 15, Klaus was re-elected with 141 votes out of 279 lawmakers present, one more than the required minimum, while Švejnar received 111 votes. Klaus' victory margin was supplied by 3 MPs who were elected for the ČSSD.

Decorations Awarded by Czech Republic

Medal of Merit (2024)

References

External links

Biography at the University of Michigan Biography at SIPA, Columbia University Archived 2014-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Biography on the website about Czech Presidential Elections If elected, 'U' prof. Would drop U.S. citizenship at the Wayback Machine (archived February 7, 2008) (The Michigan Daily) Czech president probably not chosen in election (Czech Press Agency)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jan Švejnar

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jan Švejnar claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Jan Švejnar before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Jan Švejnar ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Jan Švejnar

In research: Jan Švejnar appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Jan Švejnar in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Jan Švejnar is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1952 births, 20th-century Czech economists, 21st-century Czech economists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Jan Švejnar outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Jan Švejnar” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Jan Švejnar in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Jan Švejnar means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Jan Švejnar out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jan Švejnar in simple terms?

Jan Švejnar (born October 2, 1952) is a United States-based, Czech-born economist. He was a candidate for the 2008 election of the President of the Czech Republic.

Why does Jan Švejnar matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Jan Švejnar?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Jan Švejnar.