Sir Dennis Holme Robertson (23 May 1890 – 21 April 1963) was an English economist who taught at

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and

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Universities.

Biography

Robertson, the son of a

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clergyman, was born in

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and educated as a scholar of Eton and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he read Classics and Economics, graduating in 1912. Robertson worked closely with

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist and philosopher whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originall ...

in the 1920s and 1930s, during the years when Keynes was developing many of the ideas that later were incorporated in his ''

General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money ''The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money'' is a book by English economist John Maynard Keynes published in February 1936. It caused a profound shift in economic thought, giving macroeconomics a central place in economic theory and ...

''. Keynes wrote that at that time, working with Robertson, it was good to work with someone who had a "completely first class mind". Robertson was the first to use the term "

liquidity trap A liquidity trap is a situation, described in Keynesian economics, in which, "after the rate of interest has fallen to a certain level, liquidity preference may become virtually absolute in the sense that almost everyone prefers holding cash rathe ...

". Ultimately however, differences of temperament and views about economic theory and practice (especially in the 1937 debate over the savings-investment relationship in the General Theory) led to some estrangement between the two men. Robertson was elected to 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 ...

in 1945 and 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 ...

in 1949. Robertson died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at Cambridge on 21 April 1963.

Main publications

* ''A Study of Industrial Fluctuations'', 1915. * "Economic Incentive", 1921, ''Economica''. * ''Money'', 1922. * ''The Control of Industry'', 1923. * "Those Empty Boxes", 1924, ''EJ''. * ''Banking Policy and the Price Level'', 1926. * "Increasing Returns and the Representative Firm", 1930, ''EJ''. * ''Economic Fragments'', 1931. * "How Do We Want Gold to Behave?", in The International Gold Problem (London: Humphrey Milford, 1932) * "Saving and Hoarding", 1933, ''EJ''. * "Some Notes on Mr Keynes's "General Theory of Employment"", 1936, ''QJE''. * "Alternative Theories of the Rate of Interest", 1937, ''EJ''. * "Mr Keynes and Finance: A note", 1938, ''EJ''. * "Mr. Keynes and the Rate of Interest", 1940, in ''Essays in Monetary Theory'' * ''Essays in Monetary Theory'', 1940. * "Wage Grumbles", 1949 in ''Readings in the Theory of Income Distribution''. * ''Utility and All That'', 1952. * ''Britain in the World Economy'', 1954. * ''Economic Commentaries'', 1956. * ''Lectures on Economic Principles'', 1957–9. * ''Growth, Wages, Money'', 1961. * ''Essays in Money and Interest'', 1966

References

Sources

* Gordon Fletcher (2000), ''Understanding Dennis Robertson: The Man and His Work''. * J.R. Presley (1979), ''Robertsonian Economics''. * Ben B. Seligman (1962), ''Main Currents in Modern Economics: Economic Thought since 1870''.

External links

*
New School: Dennis Robertson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Dennis 1890 births 1963 deaths People from Lowestoft People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English economists Presidents of the Cambridge Union Knights Bachelor Professors of Political Economy (Cambridge, 1863) Members of the American Philosophical Society