The family of a Princeton University economist and former top economic adviser to former President Barack Obama, has said he committed suicide.

Alan Krueger, 58, died on Saturday, according to a university announcement. His family said in a statement: "It is with tremendous sadness we share that Professor Alan B. Krueger, beloved husband, father, son, brother, and Princeton professor of economics, took his own life over the weekend.

"The family requests the time and space to grieve and remember him. In lieu of flowers, we encourage those wishing to honor Alan to make a contribution to the charity of their choice."

Princeton had not provided a cause of death. The university said in its statement: "In addition to his scholarship, Alan’s life exemplified a commitment to public service. He was married with two children.

Krueger was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Obama from 2011 to 2013. In that role, he sought to draw attention to the problem of inequality and promote ways of increasing economic mobility.



Alan Krueger, professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University, speaks at the 2014 Fiscal Summit organized by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in Washington, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. (AP)



He also served in the Clinton administration as an economist for the Labor Department.

A distinguished labor economist, Krueger was perhaps most famous for empirical research finding that increases in the minimum wage did not cause the large job losses that were expected. That original finding led to a broader reconsideration of the minimum wage within academic economists.

Most recently, Krueger had written a book on inequality, due in June, titled "Rockonomics: A Backstage Tour of What the Music Industry Can Teach Us about Economics and Life."

In a statement, Obama called Krueger "a fundamentally good and decent man."

"Alan was someone who was deeper than numbers on a screen and charts on a page," Obama said. "He saw economic policy not as a matter of abstract theories, but as a way to make people’s lives better."