Alan Krueger, noted economist who served Obama, has died

Alan Krueger, a groundbreaking Princeton University economist who served as a top adviser in two Democratic administrations and was an authority on the labor market, has died, according to a statement from the university.

Princeton did not disclose the cause of death.

Krueger, 58, devoted much of his research to the job market and, in particular, to the impact of a minimum wage. His work concluded that a higher minimum wage did not generally slow hiring as many conservative critics have argued.

After serving as a Labor Department economist under President Bill Clinton, Krueger worked for President Barack Obama as a top Treasury official and then as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2011 to 2013.

Cecilia Rouse, dean of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School for Public Policy and International Affairs, said she first met Krueger during the 1980s when she was a student at Harvard University and he was a graduate student there.

"He was incredibly creative, dedicated and prolific," Rouse said. "He couldn't have been a better friend or mentor. It's a loss for economics and public policy."
While serving under Obama, Krueger developed and popularized the concept of the "Great Gatsby Curve."
Gene Sperling, who worked with Krueger in the Obama administration as the director of the National Economic Council, tweeted that he was, "Just shocked, just stunned, so, so saddened."