Klas Eklund (born 16 July 1952) is a Swedish economist and author.
Early life and education
Eklund was born in Kvarngärdet, Uppsala as the son of the actor couple Bengt Eklund (1925–1998) and Fylgia Zadig (1921–1994). He went to high school in Stockholm, but also spent his senior year at Wausau Senior High in Wisconsin, USA. He completed a BA degree in economics from the Stockholm School of Economics, where he later completed a Licentiate degree. From 2016 to 2017 he was SEB's Sustainability Economist. In 2009, he was appointed adjunct Professor of economics, University of Lund. He is on a number of boards including the Sixth General Pension Fund, and Mistra, a government-funded foundation for environmental research. In 2011, he was appointed member of the Swedish government's "Commission for the Future", chaired by the Prime Minister. In 2015 he chaired another Government commission on the future of the labour market.
In 2010, Eklund received the first Jacob Palmstierna award for economic writing. In 2012 he was ranked the most influential person in Sweden as regards sustainability issues. He was also selected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences IVA. In 2017, he was awarded His Majesty the King's gold medal for "outstanding services as an economist".
His many publications include the textbook Vår ekonomi. En introduktion till samhällsekonomin ("Our Economy: An Introduction to Economics"),