[2] Klarman was born in Chmielnik, Poland and emigrated to New York City in 1929.
He graduated from James Monroe High School and earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Columbia College in 1939 and his doctorate in public finance from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1946.
[4][5] His 1965 book The Economics of Health, which was commissioned by the Ford Foundation, is considered a significant early piece of literature on how standard economic principles could be applied to medical care.
[6][7] His students included David Guzick, former president of University of Florida Health.
[8] Klarman died on June 17, 1999, from lymphoma at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore.