William Clifford Clark, (April 18, 1889 – December 27, 1952) was a Canadian

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, and

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. He earned his MA from Queen's University receiving honours in Latin, French, English, History, and Political and Economic Science. He did graduate studies in economics with F. W. Taussig at

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. He returned to teach at Queen's in 1915, where he became the first head of the Commerce program in 1919. In 1923, Clark left to work for American investment firm S. W. Straus and Company, returning to Queen's after the company went bankrupt in the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. At the instigation of Oscar D. Skelton, Clark wrote a well-received memorandum on monetary policy for the 1932

British Empire Economic Conference The British Empire Economic Conference (also known as the Imperial Economic Conference or Ottawa Conference) was a 1932 conference of British colonies and dominions held to discuss the Great Depression. It was held between 21 July and 20 Augus ...

in Ottawa. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed Deputy Minister in the Department of Finance by R. B. Bennett, a position he held until his death in 1952. As deputy minister, Clark helped to establish the

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in 1934, and he chaired the World War II Economic Advisory Committee. He supported a series of mortgage-assistance measures, and he helped convince

Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

to adopt the 1944

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. Clark improved the capacity of the Department of Finance by putting together an outstanding group of expert administrators which ushered in a "golden age of Canadian public administration." The ''Clifford Clark Visiting Economist'' position in the federal Department of Finance is named in honour of Clark. Queen's University has established a public policy foundation which jointly honours Clifford Clark and Oscar D. Skelton.

Works

* 1918: (with Eric Walter Zimmerman
Foreign Trade and Shipping
volume 15 in Modern Business series of Alexander Hamilton Institute, New York, link from

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. * In ''Bulletin of the Department of History and Political Science'' at Queen's University: ** 1916: The country elevator in the Canadian West ** 1918: Should maximum prices be fixed? ** 1921: Business cycles and the depression of 1920–1. * 1930: (with John Lyndhurst Kingston): The skyscraper; a study in the economic height of modern office buildings.

References

External links

Clifford Clark
at

1889 births 1952 deaths 20th-century Canadian civil servants Canadian economists Queen's University at Kingston alumni Academic staff of Queen's University at Kingston Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Canadian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Presidents of the Canadian Political Science Association 20th-century Canadian political scientists People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry {{Canada-economist-stub

Works

References

Further reading

External links