Sir Alan Turner Peacock

DSC DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

, FBA,

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(26 June 1922 – 2 August 2014) was a British economist.

Early life

Alan Turner Peacock was born in Ryton-on-Tyne (then part of

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

) in 1922. He was the son of the scientist Alexander David Peacock, who in 1926 became Professor of Natural History at University College, Dundee (then part of the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

). On his father's appointment, the family moved to Broughty Ferry. He was educated at Grove Academy, the High School of Dundee and the

, where he completed a war-shortened degree in economics and history.

Career

Having completed correspondence courses in economics while serving with the

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during the Second World War, upon being demobilised Peacock resumed his studies at St Andrews, graduating with another degree in economics and political science in 1947. He then taught at St Andrews, the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(where he also conducted the LSE Orchestra), the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

's School of Economics, the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

(where he founded the Department of Economics), the University of Buckingham of which he was the

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from 1980 to 1984,
and finally at

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

where he was honorary professor of public finance at the Edinburgh Business School until his death. From 1973 to 1976, Peacock was the Chief Economic Adviser to the Department of Trade and Industry of the United Kingdom. He was also a co-founder and the first Executive Director of the David Hume Institute. During the 1970s and 1980s, he played a leading role in the field of cultural economics. From 1984 to 1986, Peacock served as Chairman of the Committee on the Financing of the BBC ( Peacock Committee), the tenth major British inquiry into broadcasting. The Committee rejected

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

's wish to fund the BBC by advertising and proposed a sophisticated long-term strategy in which given a full broadcasting market with unlimited channels and freedom of entry, subscription would replace the licence fee. The model developed by Peacock later on served as a blueprint for

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's Public Service Publisher.

Awards and fellowships

He was a Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

, the

Accademia dei Lincei The (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed"), anglicised as the Lincean Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy. Founded in ...

, and the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

, and was in addition an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Economic Affairs. He was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross for his intelligence work in the Arctic Ocean during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was knighted in 1987.

Books

His many academic books include ''The Economics of National Insurance'' (1952), ''The Economic Theory of Fiscal Policy'' (1971, co-author G. K. Shaw), ''Public Choice Analysis in Historical Perspective'' (1992), and ''The Political Economy of Economic Freedom'' (1997). He also authored four autobiographical volumes. In "The Enigmatic Sailor" (2003). Peacock treats his experiences and achievements as a sailor in naval intelligence during World War II for which he was awarded the

. ''Paying the Piper'' (1993) lays out his application of economics to understand the arts. In ''Anxious to do Good'' (2010) Peacock gives an account of his involvement in public policy, including the financing of the BBC. ''Defying Decrepitude'' (2013), a light-hearted account of the costs and benefits of retirement, was his last book.

Other interests

He was also a composer of music, and studied composition with the Austrian composer Hans Gál.

References