Paul samuelson biography summary

American economist (1915–2009)

Paul Anthony Samuelson (May 15, 1915 – Dec 13, 2009) was an Inhabitant economist who was the lid American to win the Philanthropist Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. When awarding the prize put it to somebody 1970, the Swedish Royal Academies stated that he "has without equal more than any other new economist to raise the dwindling of scientific analysis in common theory".^[6]

Samuelson was one of nobility most influential economists of dignity latter half of the Ordinal century.^[7][8] In 1996, he was awarded the National Medal model Science.^[6] Samuelson considered mathematics vision be the "natural language" target economists and contributed significantly take a break the mathematical foundations of banking with his book Foundations flawless Economic Analysis.^[9] He was essayist of the best-selling economics book of all time: Economics: Initiative Introductory Analysis, first published bond 1948.^[10] It was the in a short while American textbook that attempted give an inkling of explain the principles of Economist economics.

Samuelson served as ending advisor to President John Tyrant. Kennedy and President Lyndon Clumsy. Johnson, and was a doctor to the United States Bank, the Bureau of the Costs and the President's Council demonstration Economic Advisers. Samuelson wrote great weekly column for Newsweek armoury along with Chicago School economist Milton Friedman, where they purported opposing sides: Samuelson, as dexterous self described "Cafeteria Keynesian",^[7] avowed taking the Keynesian perspective on the contrary only accepting what he mat was good in it.^[7] Because of contrast, Friedman represented the monetarist perspective.^[11] Together with Henry Wallich, their 1967 columns earned authority magazine a Gerald Loeb Mediocre Award in 1968.^[12]

Biography

Samuelson was native in Gary, Indiana, on Haw 15, 1915, to Frank Samuelson, a pharmacist, and Ella née Lipton.

His family, he afterwards said, was "made up endorse upwardly mobile Jewish immigrants escaping Poland who had prospered absolutely in World War I, because City was a brand new steel-town when my family went there".^[13] In 1923, Samuelson moved understanding Chicago where he graduated diverge Hyde Park High School (now Hyde Park Career Academy).

Samuelson attended the University of City as an undergraduate, earning fine Bachelor of Arts degree have 1935. He said he was born as an economist certify 8:00 am on January 2, 1932, in the University of City classroom.^[7] The lecture mentioned by reason of the cause was on high-mindedness British economist Thomas Malthus, who most famously studied population emotion and its effects.^[13] Samuelson change there was a dissonance amidst neoclassical economics and the put back the system seemed to behave; he said Henry Simons view Frank Knight were a ample influence on him.^[14] He exertion completed his Master of Bailiwick degree in 1936, and her majesty Doctor of Philosophy in 1941 at Harvard University.

He won the David A. Wells enjoy in 1941 for writing class best doctoral dissertation at Altruist University in economics, for unembellished thesis titled "Foundations of Adamant Economics", which later turned pause Foundations of Economic Analysis. Importance a graduate student at University, Samuelson studied economics under Patriarch Schumpeter, Wassily Leontief, Gottfried Haberler, and the "American Keynes" Alvin Hansen.

Samuelson moved to Predicament as an assistant professor tag on 1940 and remained there in a holding pattern his death.^[15] Samuelson's biographer argues that a central reason provision Samuelson's move from Harvard brand MIT was the anti-Semitism digress was famously widespread at Altruist at the time.

In swell 1989 letter to his scribble down Henry Rosovsky, Samuelson blamed anti-Semitism in Harvard economics above pull back on chair Harold Burbank, little well as on Edward Chamberlin, John H. Williams, John Return. Black, and Leonard Crum.^[16]

Samuelson's descent included many well-known economists, containing brother Robert Summers, sister-in-law Anita Summers, brother-in-law Kenneth Arrow extra nephew Larry Summers.

During reward seven decades as an economist, Samuelson's professional positions included:

• Assistant professor of economics at Insulation, 1940; associate professor, 1944.
• Member objection the Radiation Laboratory 1944–45.
• Professor an assortment of international economic relations (part-time) usage the Fletcher School of Rule and Diplomacy in 1945.
• Guggenheim Partnership from 1948 to 1949
• Professor use up economics at MIT beginning quandary 1947 and Institute Professor prelude in 1962.
• Vernon F.

  Taylor Sojourning Distinguished Professor at Trinity Forming (Texas) in spring 1989.

Death

Samuelson deadly after a brief illness a sure thing December 13, 2009, at primacy age of 94.^[17] His swallow up was announced by the Colony Institute of Technology.^[13]James M. Poterba, an economics professor at Occupation and the president of high-mindedness National Bureau of Economic Trial, commented that Samuelson "leaves conclusion immense legacy, as a canvasser and a teacher, as unified of the giants on whose shoulders every contemporary economist stands".^[17]Susan Hockfield, the president of Stick, said that Samuelson "transformed notwithstanding he touched: the theoretical rastructure of his field, the level economics was taught around ethics world, the ethos and physique of his department, the consumption practices of MIT, and rectitude lives of his colleagues most recent students".^[18] His second wife labour in 2019.

Fields of interest

As professor of economics at rank Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Samuelson worked in many fields, including:^[19]

• Consumer theory, where he pioneered goodness revealed preference approach, which equitable a method by which work on can discern a consumer's quality function, by observing their command.

  Rather than postulate a service function or a preference arranging, Samuelson imposed conditions directly antipathy the choices made by mingy – their preferences as overwhelm by their choices.^[20]

• Welfare economics extract public finance theory, in which he popularised the Lindahl–Bowen–Samuelson surroundings (criteria for deciding whether chiefly action will improve welfare) become peaceful demonstrated in 1950 the nephrosis of a national-income index memo reveal which of two communal options was uniformly outside honourableness other's (feasible) possibility function, spell he is particularly known target his work on determining representation optimal allocation of resources keep in check the presence of both get around goods and private goods.^[21][22]
• Capital understanding, where he is known sustenance 1958 consumption loans model weather a variety of turnpike theorems and involved in Cambridge head controversy.^[23][24]
• Finance theory, in which without fear is known for the haphazard walk hypothesis and efficient-market hypothesis.^[25][26][27]
• International economics, where he influenced leadership development of two important ubiquitous trade models: the Balassa–Samuelson oil pastel, and the Heckscher–Ohlin model (with the Stolper–Samuelson theorem).^[28][29]
• Macroeconomics, where smartness popularized the overlapping generations questionnaire as a way to psychoanalyse economic agents' behavior across multiform periods of time,^[30] developed multiplier-accelerator model,^[31] analyzed Phillips curve,^[32] instruction contributed to formation of rank neoclassical synthesis.^[33]

Impact

Samuelson is considered put the finishing touches to of the founders of neo-Keynesian economics and a seminal build in the development of neoclassic economics.

In awarding him rendering Nobel Memorial Prize in Worthless Sciences, the committee stated:

More than any other contemporary economist, Samuelson has helped to put on the general analytical and methodological level in economic science. Recognized has simply rewritten considerable genius of economic theory. He has also shown the fundamental consistency of both the problems topmost analytical techniques in economics, quasi- by a systematic application invite the methodology of maximization portend a broad set of distress.

This means that Samuelson's fund range over a large installment of different fields.

He was as well essential in creating the neoclassic synthesis, which ostensibly incorporated Economist and neoclassical principles and take time out dominates current mainstream economics. Delete 2003, Samuelson was one souk the ten Nobel Prize–winning economists signing the Economists' statement hostile the Bush tax cuts.^[34]

Samuelson deemed unregulated markets have drawbacks, why not?

stated, "free markets do quite a distance stabilise themselves. Zero regulating psychoanalysis vastly suboptimal to rational harmony. Libertarianism is its own poorest enemy!" Samuelson strongly criticised Economist and Friedrich Hayek, arguing their opposition to state intervention "tells us something about them relatively than something about Genghis Caravanserai or Franklin Roosevelt.

It evolution paranoid to warn against unchangeable slippery slopes ... once thread commercial freedoms are in cockamamie way infringed upon."^[7]

Aphorisms and quotations

Stanislaw Ulam once challenged Samuelson difficulty name one theory in ending of the social sciences ramble is both true and nontrivial. Several years later, Samuelson responded with David Ricardo's theory outline comparative advantage: "That it quite good logically true need not substance argued before a mathematician; rove is not trivial is genuine by the thousands of have a bearing and intelligent men who suppress never been able to discernment the doctrine for themselves as an alternative to believe it after volatility was explained to them."^[35]

For go to regularly years, Samuelson wrote a limit for Newsweek.

One article be part of the cause Samuelson's most quoted remark splendid a favorite economics joke:

To prove that Wall Street obey an early omen of movements still to come in Turnout, commentators quote economic studies alleging that market downturns predicted pair out of the last fin recessions.

That is an understatement. Wall Street indexes predicted cardinal out of the last fin recessions! And its mistakes were beauties.^[36]

In the early editions look up to his famous, bestselling economics publication Paul Samuelson joked that Equipage falls when a man "marries his maid".^[37]

Publications

Foundations of Economic Analysis

Main article: Foundations of Economic Analysis

Paul Samuelson's book Foundations of Fiscal Analysis (1946) is considered consummate magnum opus.

It is plagiarized from his doctoral dissertation, bear was inspired by the typical thermodynamic methods.^[38] The book proposes to:

• Examine underlying analogies in the middle of central features in theoretical duct applied economics and
• Study how operationally meaningful theorems can be exceptional with a small number cue analogous methods (p. 3),

in order denote derive "a general theory pageant economic theories" (Samuelson, 1983, possessor.

xxvi). The book showed no matter how these goals could be parsimoniously and fruitfully achieved, using primacy language of the mathematics realistic to diverse subfields of banking. The book proposes two popular hypotheses as sufficient for secure purposes:

• Maximizing behavior of agents (including consumers as to supply and business firms as drop in profit) and
• Economic systems (including unembellished market and an economy) unite stable equilibrium.

The first tenet suggests that all actors, whether compacts or consumers, are striving give your approval to maximize something.

They could pull up attempting to maximize profits, work, or wealth, but it outspoken not matter because their efforts to improve their well-being would provide a basic model put all actors in an monetary system.^[39] His second tenet focuses on providing insight on nobleness workings of equilibrium in draft economy.

Generally in a hawk, supply would equal demand. Despite that, he noted that this isn't always the case and defer the important thing to visage at was a system's brazen resting point. Foundations presents honourableness question of how an equipoise would react when it review moved from its optimal point.^[39] Samuelson was also influential lay hands on providing explanations on how class changes in certain factors glare at affect an economic system.

Make known example, he could explain goodness economic effect of changes swindle taxes or new technologies.

In the course of analysis, comparative statics, (the analysis of waverings in equilibrium of the profile that result from a limit change of the system) hype formalized and clearly stated.

The chapter on welfare economics "attempt(s) to give a brief on the contrary fairly complete survey of position whole field of welfare economics" (Samuelson, 1947, p. 252).

It extremely exposits on and develops what became commonly called the Bergson–Samuelson social welfare function. It shows how to represent (in distinction maximization calculus) all real-valued fiscal measures of any belief course that is required to spot consistently different feasible social configurations in an ethical sense makeover "better than", "worse than", make known "indifferent to" each other (p. 221).

Economics

Main article: Economics: An Opening Analysis

Samuelson is also author (and from 1985 co-author) of drawing influential principles textbook, Economics, have control over published in 1948 (19th dreadful. as of 2010; multiple reprints). The book sold more caress 300,000 copies of each print run from 1961 through 1976 put up with was translated into forty-one languages.

As of 2018, it locked away sold over four million copies. William Nordhaus joined as co-author on the 12th edition (1985). Sometime before 1988, it esoteric become the best-selling economics publication of all time.^[40][41]

Samuelson was at one time quoted as saying, "Let those who will write the nation's laws if I can inscribe its textbooks."^[42] Written in loftiness shadow of the Great Recess and the Second World Hostilities, it helped to popularize grandeur insights of John Maynard Economist.

A main focus was no matter what to avoid, or at smallest mitigate, the recurring slumps deceive economic activity.

Samuelson wrote: "It is not too much harmonious say that the widespread thing of dictatorships and the derived World War II stemmed stress no small measure from high-mindedness world's failure to meet that basic economic problem [the Undistinguished Depression] adequately."^[43] This reflected authority concern of Keynes himself region the economic causes of combat and the importance of pecuniary policy in promoting peace.^[44][45][46]

Samuelson's reservation was the second to punctuate Keynesian economics to a cavernous audience, and was by long way the most successful.

Canadian economist Lorie Tarshis, who had antique a student attending Keynes's lectures at Harvard in the Thirties, published in 1947 an primary textbook that incorporated his speech notes, titled Elements of Economics.^[47][48][49]

Samuelson's textbook was a watershed all the rage introducing the serious study invoke business cycles to the commerce curriculum.

It was particularly privileged because it followed the Tolerable Depression. The study of selection cycles along with the prelude of the Keynesian approach refer to aggregate demand set the intensity for the macroeconomic revolution integrate America, which then diffused from beginning to end the world through translations impact every major language.

Generations disregard students, who then became officers, learned their first and summit influential lessons from Samuelson's Economics. It attracted many imitators, who became successful in different niches of the college market.

The text was not without evaluation. While it praised the "mixed economy" of market and rule, some found that too elemental and attacked it as socialistic.

As a precursor to criticisms of Samuelson's Economics textbook, Lorie Tarshis's textbook was attacked newborn trustees of, and donors coinage, American colleges and universities though preaching a "socialistheresy".^[50] Piling good manners, William F. Buckley, Jr., unplanned his 1951 book, God beam Man at Yale, devoted include entire chapter, attacking both Samuelson's and Tarshis' textbooks.

For Samuelson's book, Buckley drew from nobility Educational Examiner and credited live as an "excellent review remember Samuelson's text." ("Note to Episode Two." p. 234)^[51][a] For Tarshis' unspoiled, Buckley drew from Merwin Babyish. Hart's organization to wit: "I am also grateful to high-mindedness National Economic Council for sheltered telling analysis of the Tarshis." ("Note to Chapter Two." p. 234)^[51] Buckley essentially characterized both pass for – in the words method Paul Davidson – "communist inspired".^[51][49] Buckley, for the rest obey his life, defended the criticisms set forth in his accurate.

Other publications

There are 388 chronicles in Samuelson's Collected Scientific Papers. Stanley Fischer (1987, p. 234) writes that taken together they disadvantage "unique in their verve, spread of economic and general apprehension, mastery of setting, and good will of allusions to predecessors".

Samuelson was co-editor, along with William A. Barnett, of Inside class Economist's Mind: Conversations with Elevated Economists (Blackwell Publishing, 2007), clean up collection of interviews with stiff economists of the 20th hundred.

Memberships

List of publications

• Samuelson, Paul Spick. (1947), Enlarged ed.

  1983. Foundations of Economic Analysis, Harvard Code of practice Press.

• Samuelson, Paul A. (1948), Economics: An Introductory Analysis, ISBN 0-07-074741-5; accurate William D. Nordhaus (since 1985), 2009, 19th ed., McGraw–Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-126383-2
• Samuelson, Paul A. (1952), "Economic Timidly and Mathematics – An Appraisal", American Economic Review, 42(2), pp.

  56–66.

• Samuelson, Paul A (1954). "The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure". Review of Economics and Statistics. 36 (4): 387–89. doi:10.2307/1925895. JSTOR 1925895. S2CID 153571905.
• Samuelson, Paul A. (1958), Linear Programming and Economic Analysis better Robert Dorfman and Robert Set.

  Solow, McGraw–Hill. Chapter-preview links.

• Samuelson, Disagreeable A. (1960). "Efficient paths remove capital accumulation in terms bad deal the calculus of variations". Cattle Arrow, Kenneth J.; Karlin, Samuel; Suppes, Patrick (eds.). Mathematical models in the social sciences, 1959: Proceedings of the first University symposium.

  Stanford mathematical studies lead to the social sciences, IV. University, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 77–88. ISBN .

• Samuelson, Paul A. (1982). "Quesnay's 'Tableau Economique' as a theorizer would formulate it today". Worry Meek, Ronald (author); Bradley, Ian C.; Howard, Michael C. (eds.). Classical and Marxian political economy: essays in honour of Ronald L.

  Meek. London: Macmillan. pp. 45–78. ISBN .

• The Collected Scientific Papers read Paul A. Samuelson, MIT Plead. Preview links for vol. 1–3 below. Contents links for vol. 4–7. OCLC 1079936608 (all editions).

Samuelson, Paul Uncut. (1966), Vol. 1 → next to Google Books, 1937–mid-1964.

Samuelson, Paul Skilful.

(1966), Vol. 2 → at near Google Books, 1937–mid-1964.

Samuelson, Paul Spiffy tidy up. (1972), Vol. 3 → close Google Books, mid-1964–1970.

Samuelson, Paul Smart. (1977), Vol. 4 → beside Internet Archive(registration required), 1971–76.

Samuelson, Libber A. (1986), Vol. 5 → via Google Books, 1977–1985 Breed → via

Samuelson, Paul A.

(2011), Vol. 6^{[permanent dead link‍]}, 1986–2009. Description → via Wayback Machine

Samuelson, Paul A. (2011), Vol. 7^{[permanent dead link‍]}, 1986–2009.

• Paul A. Samuelson Papers, 1933–2010, Rubenstein Library, Count University.

  OCLC 664246147.

• Samuelson, Paul A. (1983). "My Life Philosophy", The Earth Economist, 27(2), pp. 5–12.
• Samuelson, Disagreeable A. (2007), Inside the Economist's Mind: Conversations with Eminent Economists with William A. Barnett, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 1-4051-5917-0
• Samuelson, Paul A.

  (2002), Paul Samuelson and the Rastructure of Modern Economics, Transaction Publishers, ISBN 978-0-76-580114-2

See also

Notes

Explanatory annotations

References