Jaroslav Vaněk (20 April 1930 – 15 November 2017) was a

Czech American Czech Americans ( cz, Čechoameričané), known in the 19th and early 20th century as Bohemian Americans, are citizens of the United States whose ancestry is wholly or partly originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority o ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

and Professor Emeritus of

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

known for his research on economics of participation ( labour-managed firms,

worker cooperative A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and self-managed by its workers. This control may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision-making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which management is elected by ...

s) and, in his earlier career, on the theory of

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...

. He graduated (

matura or its translated terms (''Mature'', ''Matur'', , , , , , ) is a Latin name for the secondary school exit exam or "maturity diploma" in various European countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, C ...

) from a high-school in Prague, and left/emigrated shortly after the communist putsch of 1948. He received his diploma in statistics, mathematics and economics at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

(1952), and a postgraduate degree in economics at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

(1954). In 1955 he left for the US, where in 1957 he received his PhD from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. In 1964 he became professor of economics, and in 1969 of the

international economics International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns and ...

at Cornell University, where he directed from 1970 his program ''Participation and Labor Managed Systems'', he also worked on strategies for its implementation in

post-communist Post-communism is the period of political and economic transformation or transition in former communist states located in Eastern Europe and parts of Africa and Asia in which new governments aimed to create free market-oriented capitalist economi ...

countries (1990s). He was a visiting professor at the Belgrade's Institute of Economics (1972), the

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Belgium (1974), the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences (1975-6) and the

International Institute of Social Studies The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam is an independent and international graduate school of policy-oriented critical social science. ISS was established in 1952 by Dutch universities and the Neth ...

in The Hague (1978). In 1971, Vaněk worked as an advisor to the government of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and in 1978-79 to the Prime Minister of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. In addition, he advised a number of participatory enterprises/

employee-owned companies Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Em ...

worldwide. In 1986 he founded and since directs the STEVEN Foundation (Sustainable Technology and Energy for Vital Economic Needs) that develops technologies suitable for the developing countries. He was an important contributor to the

Heckscher–Ohlin model The Heckscher–Ohlin model (, H–O model) is a general equilibrium mathematical model of international trade, developed by Eli Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin at the Stockholm School of Economics. It builds on David Ricardo's theory of comparative ad ...

, which provides a

macroeconomic Macroeconomics (from the Greek prefix ''makro-'' meaning "large" + ''economics'') is a branch of economics dealing with performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. For example, using interest rates, taxes, and ...

attempt of explanation of international trade and countries' specializations. Vaněk wrote ''The General Theory of Labour-Managed Market Economies'', a seminal work on self-management. His work in the economics of participation included ''The Participatory Economy: An Evolutionary Hypothesis and a Strategy for Development'' which reviewed behaviour of labour-managed firms in more social spheres beyond their interests in net revenue per worker.Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1971; https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801491487

Publications

* ''International Trade: Theory and Economic Policy'', 1962 * * ''General Equilibrium of International Discrimination: The Case of Customs Unions'', Harvard University Press, 1965 * ''Estimating foreign resource needs for economic development: theory, method, and a case study of Colombia'', with Richard Bilsborrow, McGraw-Hill, 1967 * ''Maximal Economic Growth'', 1968 * ''Producer Co-operatives and Labor-managed Systems'', Edward Elgar, 1968 * ''General Theory of Labor-managed Market Economies'', Cornell University Press, 1970
availabl
online
* * (editor) ''Self-Management: Economic Liberation of Man'', Penguin Books, 1975 * ''The Labor-Managed Economy: Essays'', Cornell University Press, 1977 * ''Crisis and Reform: East and West, Essays in Social Economy'', private publication, 1989
in Slovak: ''Kríza a reforma: Východ a západ, Eseje o sociálnej ekonomike'', translated by Jaroslava Perlakiová. Bratislava 1990
in Czech: ''Krize a reforma: Východ a Západ, Eseje o společenské ekonomice'', translated by Jan Sýkora, Prague 1990 * ''Unified Theory of Social Systems: A Radical Christian Analysis'', Emeritus Publications, Cornell University, 2000
availabl
online

References

*
Ярослав Ванек
(Jaroslav Vaněk, biography)'', Russian translation (available a
gallery.economicus.ru
from

Mark Blaug Mark Blaug FBA (; 3 April 1927 – 18 November 2011) was a Dutch-born British economist (naturalised in 1982), who covered a broad range of topics during his long career. He was married to Ruth Towse. Life and work Blaug was born on 3 April ...

's publication ''Great economists since Keynes: introduction to the lives and works of one hundred modern economists'', Barnes & Noble 1985, Edward Elgar 1998 *
Ярослав Ванек: Биографический словарь: зарубежные экономисты, 2002 г.
(Jaroslav Vaněk, Biographic Dictionary: International Economists, 2002)'', biography (available a
vocable.ru

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanek, Jaroslav 1930 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American economists Czechoslovak economists Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Cornell University faculty Socialist economists American people of Czech descent People from Prague