Gunnar Modeen medal to Liv Hobbelstad Simpson

The Gunnar Modeen medal awarded every three years by the Finnish Statistical Society was this year granted to Liv Hobbelstad Simpson from Norway. The medal was presented at the Nordic Statistical Conference in Bergen in Norway.

Liv Hobbelstad Simpson has been influential in the field of economic statistics both in Norway and internationally since the 1960s. It has been her objective to construct national accounts that meet high quality requirements and utilise data from several sources of official statistics. In her career, she has focused, for example, on developing concepts and methods and on the methodology of efficient and stable production processes.

Early in her career, she was instrumental in adopting the UN's new System of National Accounts in Norwegian national accounts. As Director of Economic Statistics at Statistics Norway, she reviewed data collection methods and was involved in developing national accounts.

Internationally, Ms Liv Simpson has advanced cooperation between central banks and national statistical offices and has contributed to the formation of the EEA agreement between the EU and the EFTA. She has also assisted various African countries in matters related to economic statistics and national accounts during several years.

The medal of the Gunnar Modeen fund is awarded to a distinguished Nordic statistician. The Council of the Finnish Statistical Society selects the recipient of the medal and the medal is presented in connection with the Nordic Statistical Conference. The first medal was awarded in 1989.

Gunnar Modeen (1895 - 1988) was highly influential in the field of statistics in Finland in the early 20th century. He particularly contributed to the development of population statistics and Finnish population policy during the 1930s and 1940s. He also developed statistics on dwellings and wages and salaries, and the cost-of-living index.

Further information: Nordic Statistical Conference 2013
Finnish Statistical Society