Dorothy Carolin Bacon (February 25, 1902 – November 8, 1998) was an American economist and college professor. She was an economics professor at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

for over thirty years, beginning in 1927, and worked for various federal agencies during her career. She was a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

in 1956 and 1957, studying credit institutions in the Philippines.

Early life and education

Bacon was born in

Beloit, Wisconsin Beloit ( ) is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 36,657 people. Beloit is a principal city of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville–Beloit metropolitan statistical area (Rock Co ...

, the daughter of George Preston Bacon and Hannah Churchill Bacon. Her father was a physics professor and dean of engineering at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

, and her mother worked as a nurse during the

1918 influenza pandemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, H1N1 subtype of the influenz ...

. Her younger sister was Ruth E. Bacon, a foreign service officer. The sisters were close, and Dorothy Bacon shopped for Ruth Bacon's work wardrobe when she was a diplomat. Bacon attended

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by ...

from 1918 to 1919, and graduated from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

in 1922. She stayed at Radcliffe to earn a master's degree in 1924, and a PhD in economics in 1928, with a dissertation titled "Maladjustment of Prices with Special Reference to the Wholesale Prices of Commodities in the United States; 1890-1896".

Career

Bacon was a professor of economics at

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 ...

from 1924 to 1926, and at Smith College from 1927 into the 1960s. She wrote ''Recent Economic History of Five Towns'' (1937). She served on an awards committee of the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...

in 1940. In the 1930s, Bacon worked for the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

and the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...

(FDIC). In 1939, she was among the "leading instructors in economics" who signed a letter opposing a sales tax in Massachusetts. In the 1940s, she worked for the

Office of Price Administration The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money ( price con ...

. She consulted for the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

in the 1950s, and worked with the

National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic co ...

. She was a Fulbright Scholar in the Philippines from 1956 to 1957.

Publications

* "A Monthly Index of Commodity Prices, 1890–1900" (1926) * "The Significance of Fixed-Base and Link Relatives in Studies of Price Stability—a Comment on ''the Behavior of Prices''" (1928) * ''Recent Economic History of Five Towns'' (1937) * "New Credit Patterns for the Rise from Colonialism: The Case of the Philippines" (1959) * "New Credit Institutions for New Nations: The Case of the Philippines" (1965)

Personal life

Bacon died in 1998, aged 96 years, in

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden ( ) is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planni ...

. Her grave is with her parents' graves, at Shawsheen Cemetery in Massachusetts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Dorothy Carolin 1902 births 1998 deaths People from Beloit, Wisconsin Radcliffe College alumni Smith College faculty Vassar College faculty American women economists 20th-century American economists