The Economics Book

336

ARTHUR PIGOU

1877–1959

Born in Ryde, Isle of Wight, Arthur
Pigou studied history at Cambridge
University, UK, where he developed
an interest in economics and met
Alfred Marshall (p.110). After
graduating, Pigou lectured at
Cambridge until the outbreak of
World War I, taking over Marshall’s
professorship in political economy
in 1908. He is best known for the
“Pigouvian taxes” he devised to
offset externalities (costs or benefits
that “spill over” onto third parties).
See also: External costs 137

NIKOLAI DMITRIYEVICH

KONDRATIEV

1892–1938

Brought up in a peasant family
near Kostroma, Russia, Nikolai
Kondratiev studied economics at
the University of St. Petersburg,
then worked for the government.
When Tsar Nicholas II was ousted
in 1917, Kondratiev was a member
of the Revolutionary Socialist Party
and was made Minister of Supply.
A month later, the provisional
government was overthrown and
Kondratiev returned to academic
life. He developed a theory of 50-
to 60-year cycles in capitalist
economies, now known as
Kondratiev waves. In 1930, his ideas
fell out of favor. He was arrested,
and executed eight years later.
See also: Boom and bust 78–79

RAGNAR FRISCH

1895–1973

Born in Christiana, Norway, Ragnar
Frisch was a pioneer in the use of

mathematics and statistics in

economics. He coined the terms

econometrics, microeconomics, and

macroeconomics. He initially

trained as a goldsmith, intending to

join the family firm, but then studied

economics and mathematics in

France and England. In 1932, he

founded the Oslo Institute of

Economics, and in 1969 he became

the first recipient of the Nobel Prize

in Economic Sciences with his

colleague Jan Tinbergen.

See also: Testing economic

theories 170

PAUL ROSENSTEIN-RODAN

1902–85

Born into a Polish-Jewish family in

Austrian-ruled Kraków, Rosenstein-

Rodan began as a member of the

Austrian School of economists. In

1930, he fled anti-Semitism in his

homeland for London, where he

lectured at the London School of

Economics. In the 1940s his

interest moved to development

economics, and he proposed what

came to be known as the “Big

Push” theory. After World War II he

moved to the US, working for the

World Bank and as an adviser to

the governments of India, Italy,

Chile, and Venezuela.

See also: Development economics

188–93

JAN TINBERGEN

1903–1994

Joint winner of the first Nobel Prize

in Economic Sciences with Ragnar

Frisch in 1969, Dutch theorist Jan

Tinbergen initially studied

mathematics and physics, then

began to apply scientific principles

to economic theory and, in so doing,

laid the foundations for the new

field of econometrics. He worked

as an adviser to the League of

Nations and the Dutch Central

Bureau of Statistics, where,

in 1936, he developed a new

national macroeconomic model.

It was later adopted by

other governments.

See also: Testing economic

theories 170

RICHARD KAHN

1905–1989

Richard Ferdinand Kahn was born

in London to German parents and

gained a degree in physics at

Cambridge University, UK, before

switching to economics, obtaining

an honors degree in one year under

the supervision of John Maynard

Keynes (p.161). At the age of 25

he made his name with an article

describing the multiplier,

a building block of Keynesian

economics. A practical economist,

he advised the British government

during World War II before returning

to Cambridge University, where he

taught until his retirement in 1972.

See also: The Keynesian

Multiplier 164–65

RAGNAR NURKSE

1907–1959

Born in Käru, Estonia (then part of

the Russian Empire), Ragnar Nurkse

studied law and economics at the

University of Tartu. He continued

his studies in Scotland and then

Vienna. In 1934, Nurkse began

working as a financial analyst for the

League of Nations, which influenced

his interest in international and

development economics. After

World War II he moved to the US,

DIRECTORY