Józef Hozer (19 March 1948 – 18 December 2023) was a Polish professor of economics, specialising in econometrics, statistics, and real estate appraisal. He was an academic teacher and a prominent researcher at the University of Szczecin.
Biography.
Józef Hozer graduated from the Faculty of Engineering and Transport Economics at the Szczecin University of Technology (1965–1969), where he subsequently worked as an assistant professor. In 1973, he earned his PhD in economics with a dissertation titled "Determining the Optimal Size of a Road Transport Company", which received an award from the Minister of Science and Higher Education. In 1981, he obtained his habilitation and was appointed associate professor at the Szczecin University of Technology. In 1987, the State Council of Poland granted him the title of professor. From 1991, he served as a full professor at the University of Szczecin. Hozer undertook numerous research internships, including at the Institute of Econometrics in Katowice under Prof. (1974), Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris (1975), Loyola University Chicago (1988), the University of Pennsylvania under Prof. Lawrence Klein (1990), Lumière University Lyon 2 (1990), and University of Manchester (1998).
He was married to Ewa (PhD in economics) and had two daughters: Marta (PhD in economics) and Hanna (graduate of the Academy of Music in opera singing).
Józef Hozer was buried at the Central Cemetery in Szczecin, plot 20C-6-2.
Academic career.
Professor Hozer's broad research interests led him to lead and participate in numerous research grants, including those funded by the State Committee for Scientific Research and central research projects. Notable projects included: "Econometric Modelling of Enterprises and Their Environment" (1988–1990), "Econometric Algorithm for Mass Land Valuation" (1998–1999), "Analysis of Capital and Real Estate Markets as Competitive Investment Areas" (1998–2000), "Impact of Information Asymmetry on the Risk of Polish Insurance Institutions" (1999–2000), "Analysis of Disabled Persons' Participation in the Labour Market in Western Pomerania" (2000–2001), "Econometric Analysis of Micro- and Macro-Structural Proportions in the Polish Economy" (1997–1998), and "Use of Event History Analysis and Firm Demography to Study Firm Longevity" (2006–2009). A key contribution was his observation of a "mysterious" relationship between the number of households and firms, expressed as a ratio of 5 ("Quantum satis"). Another significant achievement was the development of a computer algorithm for mass land valuation (cadastral and market value), known as the Hozer algorithm, which was applied multiple times in practice.
Hozer participated in over 30 international conferences and was a beneficiary of an Individual Mobility Grant (Tempus, Brussels). From 1983, under the auspices of the Polish Academy of Sciences, he organised the National Conference on Microeconometrics in Theory and Practice. The 14th edition of this conference, held in September 2009 on the ferry "Pomerania" during a voyage from Świnoujście to Copenhagen, attracted over 100 researchers from major Polish academic centres.
In 1994, he was appointed to the Editorial Board of the Polish Academy of Sciences' "Przegląd Statystyczny". He was also a member of the Committee of Statistics and Econometrics of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the World Econometric Society.