Eminent Economists II: Their Life and Work Philosophies

486 Pages·2014·3.055 MB·English

by  Szenberg M., Ramrattan L. (eds.)

Eminent Economists II
Michael Szenberg and Lall Ramrattan
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EminEnt Economists ii
The sequel to Eminent Economists, this book presents the ideas of some of the
most outstanding economists of the past half-century. The contributors, repre-
senting divergent points of the ideological compass, present their life philoso-
phies and reflect on their conceptions of human nature, society, justice, and the
source of creative impulse. These self-portraits reveal details of the economists’
personal and professional lives that capture the significance of the total person.
The essays represent streams of thought that lead to the vast ocean of econom-
ics, where gems of the discipline lie, and the volume will appeal to a wide array
of readers, including professional economists, students, and laypersons who
seek a window into the heart of this complex field.
Michael Szenberg is Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Lubin School
of Business, Pace University. He is the recipient of many awards, including the
2013 John R. Commons Award, the Kenan Award for excellence in teaching,
and the 1971 Irving Fisher Monograph Award. Professor Szenberg is the author
or coauthor (with Lall B. Ramrattan) of more than seventeen books and many
journal articles and encyclopedia entries. He served as the editor-in-chief of
The American Economist (1973–2011).
Lall B. Ramrattan holds a PhD from the New School University. He is an
instructor at the University of California, Berkeley. He has published articles
in several major journals and has served as an associate editor of The American
Economist.

Eminent Economists II

Their Life and Work Philosophies
Edited by
Michael Szenberg
Lubin School of Business, Pace University
lall raMrattan
University of California, Berkeley Extension
32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013–2473, USA
Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge.
It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of
education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107656369
© Cambridge University Press 2014
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2014
Printed in the United States of America
A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Eminent economists II: their life and work philosophies / [edited by] Michael Szenberg,
Lall Ramrattan; foreword by Robert Solow.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-107-04053-3 (hardback) – ISBN 978-1-107-65636-9 (paperback)
1. Economists – Biography. 2. Economics – Philosophy. I. Szenberg,
Michael. II. Ramrattan, Lall, 1951–
HB76.E452 2014
330.092′2–dc23 2013027354
ISBN 978-1-107-04053-3 Hardback
ISBN 978-1-107-65636-9 Paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of URLs for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication
and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
B’H
Once again, to my mother, Sara, who gave birth to me – twice;

my father, Henoch, for his wisdom;
my sister, Esther, for bringing me to these shores;
my two children, Naomi and Avi, and
their spouses, Marc and Tova;
and my wife, Miriam
And most of all to my grandchildren,
Elki and now Chaim, Batya, Chanoch, Devorah, Ephraim, Ayala, and Jacob
And to the Righteous Anonymous Austrian-German Officer who took my
immediate family to a hiding place just days before the last transport to
Auschwitz, where most of my family perished
In Memoriam
To my late elder sister, Balwanty Deolall,
and brother, Deonarine Ramrattan,
who have always directed me on the traditional path
No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings.
William Blake
Contents
List of Contributors page xi
Foreword by Robert Solow xv
Preface and Acknowledgments xix
Introduction 1
Michael Szenberg and Lall B. Ramrattan
1 Being There: An Intellectual Journey 14
Alan S. Blinder
2 Social Norms in Economics and in the Economics Profession 30
Clair Brown
3 Personal Reflections on my Professional Life 45
John Y. Campbell
4 Gray Eminence? 57
Vincent P. Crawford
5 Biochemist to Economist 72
Paul Davidson
6 Puzzles and Paradoxes: A Life in Applied Economics 84
Angus Deaton
7 Succeeding in Economics 102
Harold Demsetz
8 My Research Strategy 111
Peter Diamond
vii
viii Contents
9 My Philosophy of Economics, Life, and Everything (Not!) 118
Avinash Dixit
10 Finding a Niche 129
Barry Eichengreen
11 Become an Economist – See the World 145
Jeffrey Frankel
12 Practitioner of the Dismal Science? Who, Me? Couldn’t Be!! 166
Richard B. Freeman
13 One Job, Four Careers 187
Benjamin M. Friedman
14 My Life and Research Strategy 203
John Hull
15 How I Ended Up Being a Multifaceted Economist and the
Mentors I Have Had 213
Michael D. Intriligator
16 Searching for My Personal Philosophy 219
Peter B. Kenen
17 Learning About the Evolving International Economy 229
Anne O. Krueger
18 Confessions of a Wellesley FEM 249
Helen F. Ladd
19 God, Ants, and Thomas Bayes 270
Harry M. Markowitz
20 The Path of a Monetary Economist 286
Frederic S. Mishkin
21 Learning from the Field 316
Elinor Ostrom
22 Order-in-and-through-Disorder: The Invisible Hand as a
Turbulent Regulator? 338
Anwar Shaikh
23 The Education of an Economist 352
Jeremy J. Siegel