David Charles Colander (November 16, 1947 – December 4, 2023) was an American
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, 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 ...
, and the Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of
Economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
at
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...
. He is known for his study of the economics profession itself and
socioeconomics
Economic sociology is the study of the social cause and effect of various economic phenomena. The field can be broadly divided into a classical period and a contemporary one, known as "new economic sociology".
The classical period was concerned ...
. His books ''The Making of an Economist'' and its later edition, ''The Making of an Economist, Redux'', have been called "essential reading for prospective graduate students".
[Princeton University Press. The Making of an Economist, Redux]
Publisher review
He has authored over 35 books and 100 articles on a wide variety of subjects. He has expressed interest in
complexity economics
Complexity economics is the application of complex system, complexity science to the problems of economics. It relaxes several common assumptions in economics, including general equilibrium theory. While it does not reject the existence of an equ ...
. His latest work focuses on economic education, complexity, and the methodology appropriate to applied policy economics.
Colander received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and has taught at
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 ...
,
Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...
, the University of Miami, and
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
as well as Middlebury College. In 2001–2002 he was the Kelley Professor for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University. He has been president of both the Eastern Economic Association and History of Economic Thought Society and is, or has been, on the editorial boards of numerous journals, including ''
Journal of Economic Perspectives
The ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'' (''JEP'') is an economic journal published by the American Economic Association. The journal was established in 1987. The JEP was founded by Joseph Stiglitz, Carl Shapiro, and Timothy Taylor.
It is orien ...
'' and the ''
Journal of Economic Education
The ''Journal of Economic Education'' (''JEE'') offers original peer-reviewed articles on teaching economics. The inaugural issue appeared in the fall of 1969. At the time, G.L. Bach (Stanford University) wrote in the ''American Economic Review Pa ...
''. He has also been a consultant to Time-Life Films, a consultant to Congress, a Brookings Policy Fellow, and a visiting scholar at Nuffield College, Oxford. He is listed in Who's Who?, Who's Who in Education?, etc. in 2017 he received The John R. Commons Award from
Omicron Delta Epsilon, the economics honor society.
In an article entitled "Confessions of an Economic Gadfly", Colander relayed the story of his progression as an economist. He states that he is inspired by the "Yeah criterion" – intuitive explanations that seem to fit. He also discusses the influence of mathematics on economics and his career. He says that he is not an "ultramathematician", and is comfortable taking an intuitive approach to economic ideas. Thus he did not favor what he called "the MIT approach" of formalism. He believes that the MIT approach limits one's intuition and recollects encountering colleagues who refused to discuss economic ideas without formal models. Despite Colander's aversion to simplified formal models, he began his career working on a mathematical project. He got his break, however, when he collaborated with
Abba P. Lerner on a book. After that, he was able to publish in certain journals. He began to write textbooks, and since then his recognition has grown where he now tries to focus his publications in areas where his ideas are less well-known.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colander, David
21st-century American economists
Middlebury College faculty
1947 births
Columbia University alumni
Princeton University faculty
2023 deaths