Work and Biography of the Economist Helene Lieser

The background of the portrait points to a fascinating family history that shows the light and shadow of Austria like no other. In 1920, Lieser became the first woman in Austria to graduate with a doctorate in economics and co-founded the Austrian Institute for Business Cycle Research. Through her teacher and patron Ludwig von Mises, she was closely associated with the Austrian School of Economics, but was primarily interested in heterodox approaches. The salon of her mother, the famous Schönberg patron Lilly Lieser, was frequented by the most important cultural figures of the time. Fleeing from the National Socialists pushed Helene Lieser to pursue an international career: she followed Mises to Geneva and later went to Paris, where she worked for the OECD and UNESCO and co-founded and headed the International Economic Association, which still exists today.