John H. Pencavel is a British economist and academic, currently serving as Levin Professor of Economics (Emeritus) at Stanford University, having been at the institution since 1969.
Pencavel grew up in Hanwell, West London, attending Drayton Manor Grammar School.
He then went on to read Economics at University College London, gaining both a BSc (1965) and MSc (1966), before receiving his PhD from Princeton University in 1969.
[2] Pencavel's major contributions lie within labour economics, focussing on behavioural models of trade unions, and modelling worker cooperatives.
[3] Pencavel is also the creator of the JEL Classification System, used in an amended form by the AEA to this day.