Albert O. Hirschman
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Albert Otto Hirschman (born ''Otto-Albert Hirschmann''; April 7, 1915 – December 10, 2012) was a German economist and the author of several books on
political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...
and
political ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
. His first major contribution was in the area of
development economics Development economics is a branch of economics that deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural c ...
, emphasizing the need for unbalanced growth. He argued that disequilibria should be encouraged to stimulate growth and help mobilize resources, because developing countries are short of decision-making skills. Key to this was encouraging industries with many linkages to other firms. His later work in political economy advanced two schemata: the first describes the three basic possible responses to decline in firms or polities (quitting, speaking up, staying quiet) in '' Exit, Voice, and Loyalty'' (1970); the second describes the basic arguments made by
conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
(perversity, futility and jeopardy) in ''
The Rhetoric of Reaction ''The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy'' is a book by theorist Albert O. Hirschman, which styles the rhetoric of conservatism in opposition to social change as consisting of three narratives: ''perversity,'' ''futility,'' and ...
'' (1991). In
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 ...
, he played a key role in rescuing refugees in
occupied France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...
.


Early life and education

Otto Albert Hirschman was born in 1915 into an affluent Jewish family in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, Germany, the son of Carl Hirschmann, a surgeon,Book review of “Worldly Philosopher: The Odyssey of Albert O. Hirschman” (Princeton), by Jeremy Adelman : The Gift of Doubt: Albert O. Hirschman and the power of failure by Malcolm Gladwell
The New Yorker, 2013
and Hedwig Marcuse Hirschmann. He had a sister, Ursula Hirschmann.Honorary degree awarded to Albert O. Hirschman
by
Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
In 1932, he started studying at Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, where he was active in the
anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
resistance. He emigrated to Paris, where he continued his studies at
HEC Paris HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...
and the Sorbonne. Then he was off to 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 ...
and the University of Trieste, where he received his doctorate in economics in 1938. However, he had taken one break in the summer of 1936 to spend three months as a volunteer fighting on behalf of the Spanish Republic in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. This experience helped him when, after France's 1940 surrender to the Nazis 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 ...
, he worked with Varian Fry from the Emergency Rescue Committee to help many of Europe's leading artists and intellectuals escape from
occupied France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...
to Spain through paths in the Pyrenees Mountains and then to Portugal, with their exodus to end in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Those rescued included
Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...
,
Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theory, political theorists of the twentieth century. Her work ...
, and
Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...
. Hirschman's participation in these rescues is one aspect of the 2023
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
series '' Transatlantic'', in which a fictionalized version of him is played by Lucas Englander.


Life and career

From 1941 to 1943 he was a Rockefeller Fellow at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
. From 1943 to 1946 he was in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
, where he worked in the
Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...
(the forerunner of the CIA). Among his tasks was serving as the interpreter for German general Anton Dostler at an early Allied
war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
s trial. He was chief of the Western European and British Commonwealth Section of the Federal Reserve Board from 1946 to 1952. In this role, he conducted and published analyses of postwar European reconstruction and newly created international economic institutions. From 1952 to 1954 he was a financial advisor to the National Planning Board of Colombia; he stayed in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
for another 2 years and worked as a private economic counselor. Thereafter he held a succession of academic appointments in the economics departments of
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
(1956–58),
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
(1958–64), and
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
(1964–74). He was on the Faculty of Social Science of the
Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...
at Princeton from 1974 to his death, in 2012. He died at the age of 97 on December 10, 2012, just months after the death of his wife of over 70 years, Sarah Hirschman (née Chapiro).


Work

His first major contribution was in the area of
development economics Development economics is a branch of economics that deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural c ...
with the 1958 book '' The Strategy of Economic Development''. Here he emphasized the need for unbalanced growth. He argued that disequilibria should be encouraged to stimulate growth and help mobilize resources, because developing countries are short of decision-making skills. Key to this was encouraging industries with many linkages to other firms. He argued against "Big Push" approaches to development, such as those advocated by Paul Rosenstein-Rodan. In the 1960s, Hirschman praised the works of
Peruvian Peruvians (''/peruanas'') are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 ...
intellectuals
José Carlos Mariátegui José Carlos Mariátegui La Chira (; June 14, 1894 – April 16, 1930) was a Peruvian writer, sociologist, historian, journalist, politician, and Marxist philosopher. A prolific author despite his early death, El Amauta (from Quechua: ham ...
and Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, stating "paradoxically, the most ambitious attempt to theorize the revolution of Latin American society arose in a country that to date has experienced very little social change: I am talking about Peru and the writings of Haya de la Torre and Mariátegui". He helped develop the hiding hand principle in his 1967 essay ''The principle of the hiding hand'',. His later work was in political economy, where he advanced two schemata. In '' Exit, Voice, and Loyalty'' (1970) he described the three basic possible responses to decline in firms or polities (quitting, speaking up, staying quiet). The second systematizes the basic arguments made by
conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
(perversity, futility and jeopardy) in ''
The Rhetoric of Reaction ''The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy'' is a book by theorist Albert O. Hirschman, which styles the rhetoric of conservatism in opposition to social change as consisting of three narratives: ''perversity,'' ''futility,'' and ...
'' (1991). In ''The Passions and the Interests'' Hirschmann recounts a history of the ideas laying the intellectual groundwork for capitalism. He describes how thinkers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries embraced the sin of avarice as an important counterweight to humankind's destructive passions. Capitalism was promoted by thinkers including Montesquieu, Sir James Steuart, and Adam Smith as repressing the passions for "harmless" commercial activities. Hirschman noted that terms including "vice" and "passion" gave way to "such bland terms" as "advantage" and "interest." Hirschman described it as the book he most enjoyed writing. According to Hirschman biographer Jeremy Adelman, it reflected Hirschman's political moderation, a challenge to reductive accounts of human nature by economists as a "utility-maximizing machine" as well as Marxian or communitarian "nostalgia for a world that was lost to consumer avarice."


Herfindahl–Hirschman Index

In 1945, Hirschman proposed a market concentration index which was the square root of the sum of the squares of the market share of each participant in the market. In 1950, Orris C. Herfindahl proposed a similar index (but without the square root), apparently unaware of the prior work. Thus, it is usually referred to as the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index.


Books

* 1945. ''National Power and the Structure of Foreign Trade'' 1980 expanded ed., Berkeley : University of California Press * 1955. ''Colombia; highlights of a developing economy''. Bogotá: Banco de la Republica Press. * 1958. '' The Strategy of Economic Development.'' New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. * 1961. ''Latin American issues; essays and comments'' New York: Twentieth Century Fund. * 1963. ''Journeys toward Progress: Studies of Economic Policy-Making in Latin America.'' New York: Twentieth Century Fund * 1967. ''Development Projects Observed.'' Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. (paper). * 1970. '' Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. (paper). * 1971. ''A Bias for Hope: Essays on Development and Latin America''. New Haven: Yale University Press. * 1977. ''The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments For Capitalism Before Its Triumph''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. . * 1980. ''National Power and the Structure of Foreign Trade''. Berkeley: University of California Press. * 1981. ''Essays in trespassing: economics to politics and beyond''. Cambridge (Eng.); New York: Cambridge University Press. * 1982. ''Shifting involvements: private interest and public action''. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. * 1984. ''Getting ahead collectively: grassroots experiences in Latin America'' (with photographs by Mitchell Denburg). New York: Pergamon Press * 1985. ''A bias for hope: essays on development and Latin America''. Boulder: Westview Press. * 1986. ''Rival views of market society and other recent essays''. New York: Viking. * 1991. ''
The Rhetoric of Reaction ''The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy'' is a book by theorist Albert O. Hirschman, which styles the rhetoric of conservatism in opposition to social change as consisting of three narratives: ''perversity,'' ''futility,'' and ...
: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. (cloth) and (paper). * 1995. ''A propensity to self-subversion''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. * 1998. ''Crossing boundaries: selected writings''. New York: Zone Books; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Distributed by the MIT Press. * 2013. ''Worldly Philosopher: The Odyssey of Albert O. Hirschman'' by Jeremy Adelman. . Princeton University Press. Princeton, NJ (2013) * 2013. ''The Essential Hirschman'' edited by Jeremy Adelman (Princeton University Press) 384 pages; 16 essays


Selected articles

* "On Measures of Dispersion for a Finite Distribution." ''Journal of the American Statistical Association'' 38, no. 223 (September 1943): 346–352. * "The Commodity Structure of World Trade." T''he Quarterly Journal of Economics'' 57, no. 4 (August 1943): 565–595. * "Devaluation and the Trade Balance: A Note." ''The Review of Economics and Statistics'' 31, no. 1 (February 1949): 50–53. * "Negotiations and the Issues." ''The Review of Economics and Statistics'', 33, no. 1 (February 1951): 49–55. * "Types of Convertibility." ''The Review of Economics and Statistics'', 33, no. 1 (February 1951): 60–62. * "Currency Appreciation as an Anti-Inflationary Device: Further Comment." ''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'', 66, no. 1 (February 1952): 117–120. * "Economic Policy in Underdeveloped Countries." ''Economic Development and Cultural Change'', 5, no. 4 (July 1957): 362–370. * "Investment Policies and 'Dualism' in Underdeveloped Countries." ''
The American Economic Review The ''American Economic Review'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal first published by the American Economic Association in 1911. The current editor-in-chief is Erzo FP Luttmer, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College. The journal i ...
'' 47, no. 5 (September 1957): 550–570. * "Invitation to Theorizing about the Dollar Glut." ''The Review of Economics and Statistics'' 42, no. 1 (February 1960): 100–102. * "The Commodity Structure of World Trade: Reply." ''The
Quarterly Journal of Economics ''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Oxford University Press for the Harvard University Department of Economics. Its current editors-in-chief are Robert J. Barro, Lawrence F. Katz, Nathan ...
'' 75, no. 1 (February 1961): 165–166. * "Models of Reformmongering." ''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'' 77, no. 2 (May 1963): 236–257. * "Obstacles to Development: A Classification and a Quasi-Vanishing Act." ''Economic Development and Cultural Change'' 13, no. 4 (July 1965): 385–393. * "The Political Economy of Import-Substituting Industrialization in Latin America." ''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'' 82, no. 1 (February 1968): 1–32. * "Underdevelopment, Obstacles to the Perception of Change, and Leadership." ''Daedalus'' 97, no. 3 (Summer 1968): 925–937. * "An Alternative Explanation of Contemporary Harriednes." ''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'' 87, no. 4 (November 1973): 634–637. * "The Changing Tolerance for Income Inequality in the Course of Economic Development", '' World Development'', Vol. 1, No. 12, (December 1973). * "On Hegel, Imperialism, and Structural Stagnation", ''
Journal of Development Economics The ''Journal of Development Economics'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier. It was established in 1974 and is considered the top field journal in development economics. Its editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC ...
'' 3 (1976): 1–8. * "Beyond Asymmetry: Critical Notes on Myself as a Young Man and on Some Other Old Friends." ''International Organization'' 32, no. 1 (Winter 1978): 45–50. * "Exit, Voice, and the State." ''World Politics'' 31, no. 1 (October 1978): 90–107. * "The Rise and Decline of Development Economics." ''International Symposium on Latin America'',
Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...
, Israel, 1980. * "'Exit, Voice, and Loyalty': Further Reflections and a Survey of Recent Contributions." ''The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly. Health and Society'' 58, no. 3 (Summer 1980): 430–453. * "Rival Interpretations of Market Society: Civilizing, Destructive, or Feeble?." ''Journal of Economic Literature'' 20, no. 4 (December 1982): 1463–1484. * "Against Parsimony: Three Easy Ways of Complicating Some Categories of Economic Discourse." Bulletin of the ''American Academy of Arts and Sciences'' 37, no. 8 (May 1984): 11–28. * "Against Parsimony: Three Easy Ways of Complicating Some Categories of Economic Discourse." ''
American Economic Review The ''American Economic Review'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal first published by the American Economic Association in 1911. The current editor-in-chief is Erzo FP Luttmer, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College. The journal is ...
'' 72, no. 2 (1984): 89–96 * "University Activities Abroad and Human Rights Violations: Exit, Voice, or Business as Usual." ''Human Rights Quarterly'' 6, no. 1 (February 1984): 21–26. * "The Political Economy of Latin American Development: Seven Exercises in Retrospection." ''Latin American Research Review'' 22, no. 3 (1987): 7–36. * "Exit, Voice, and the Fate of the German Democratic Republic: An Essay in Conceptual History." ''World Politics'' 45, no. 2 (January 1993): 173–202. * "Social Conflicts as Pillars of Democratic Market Society." ''Political Theory'' 22, no. 2 (May 1994): 203–218.


Awards

Hirschman was a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
(1965), the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
(1979), and the United States
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
(1987). In 2001, Hirschman was named among the top 100 American intellectuals, as measured by academic citations, in
Richard Posner Richard Allen Posner (; born January 11, 1939) is an American legal scholar and retired United States circuit judge who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 1981 to 2017. A senior lecturer at the University of Chicag ...
's book, ''Public Intellectuals: A Study of Decline.'' In 2002, Hirschman was awarded
Doctor Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
by the
European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral research-intensive university and an intergovernmental organisation with juridical personality, established by its founding member states to contribu ...
, Florence, Italy. In 2003, he won the Benjamin E. Lippincott Award from the
American Political Science Association The American Political Science Association (APSA) is a professional association of political scientists in the United States. Founded in 1903 in the Tilton Memorial Library (now Tilton Hall) of Tulane University in New Orleans, it publishes four ...
to recognize a work of exceptional quality by a living political theorist for his book ''The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism before Its Triumph''. In 2007, the
Social Science Research Council The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it maintains a headqua ...
established an annual prize in honor of Hirschman.


See also

*
Economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...
* Hirschman cycle * Exit, Voice, and Loyalty Model *
Latin American studies Latin American studies (LAS) is an academic and research field associated with the study of Latin America. The interdisciplinary study is a subfield of area studies, and can be composed of numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, histor ...
* Fernando Henrique Cardoso * Guillermo O'Donnell * Philippe C. Schmitter


References

;Citations ;Sources *


Further reading

* Michele Alacevich. 2021.
Albert O. Hirschman: An Intellectual Biography
'. Columbia University Press. * Jeremy Adelman. 2013. ''Worldly Philosopher: The Odyssey of Albert O. Hirschman''. Princeton University Press


External links


Albert Hirschman Papers at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University

The New York Review of Books Bibliography



Albert O. Hirschman Prize and Lecture

Obituary from the Institute for Advanced Study

"A great lateral thinker died on December 10th"
The Economist 2012. * Michael Laver. "Exit, Voice, and Loyalty revisited: The Strategic Production and Consumption of Public and Private Goods," ''British Journal of Political Science''. Vol. 6. (Oct. 1976). pp. 463–482. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirschman, Albert O. 1915 births 2012 deaths 21st-century American economists 20th-century American economists American development economists University of Paris alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Institute for Advanced Study faculty Latin Americanists University of California, Berkeley faculty HEC Paris alumni Harvard University faculty Columbia University faculty Alumni of the London School of Economics Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences University of Trieste alumni Französisches Gymnasium Berlin alumni International Brigades personnel Jewish American academics Jewish scholars Distinguished fellows of the American Economic Association Social Science Research Council Members of the American Philosophical Society Corresponding fellows of the British Academy Social scientists from Berlin