Jacob Viner
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jacob Viner (3 May 1892 – 12 September 1970) was a Canadian
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 is considered with Frank Knight and Henry Simons to be one of the "inspiring" mentors of the early
Chicago school of economics The Chicago school of economics is a Neoclassical economics, neoclassical Schools of economic thought, school of economic thought associated with the work of the faculty at the University of Chicago, some of whom have constructed and populari ...
in the 1930s: he was one of the leading figures of the
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
faculty.
Paul Samuelson Paul Anthony Samuelson (May 15, 1915 – December 13, 2009) was an American economist who was the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. When awarding the prize in 1970, the Swedish Royal Academies stated that he "h ...
named Viner (along with Harry Gunnison Brown, Allyn Abbott Young, Henry Ludwell Moore, Frank Knight, Wesley Clair Mitchell, and Henry Schultz) as one of the several "American saints in
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 ...
" born after 1860. He was an important figure in the field of political economy.


Early life

Viner was born to a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family on May 3, 1892, in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, to
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
n immigrant parents. He earned his undergraduate degree at
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
in 1914. He received a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
at
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 ...
, where he wrote his dissertation, under the trade economist F. W. Taussig.


Academic career

Viner was a professor at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
from 1916 to 1917 and from 1919 to 1946. At various times, Viner also taught at Stanford and
Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
Universities and twice went to the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. In 1946 he left for
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 ...
, where he remained until his retirement, in 1960. He was also a member 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 ...
in Princeton from 1947 to 1948 and a permanent member there from 1950 to 1970. Viner 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 1934. In 1942, he was elected to 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 ...
. Nobel laureate
Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and ...
studied under Viner while he was at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
. Viner died on September 12, 1970, in Princeton,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
.


Public service

Viner played a role in government, most notably as an advisor to
Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
Henry Morgenthau Jr. during the administration of
Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
. 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 served as co-rapporteur to the economic and financial group of the
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...
' " War and Peace Studies" project, along with Harvard economist Alvin Hansen.


Work


Economics

Viner was a noted opponent of
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 ...
during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. While he agreed with the policies of government spending pushed by Keynes, Viner argued that Keynes's analysis was flawed and would not stand in the long run. Known for his economic modeling of the
firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
, including the long- and the short-run
cost curve In economics, a cost curve is a graph of the costs of production as a function of total quantity produced. In a free market economy, productively efficient firms optimize their production process by minimizing cost consistent with each possible ...
s, his work is still used today. Viner is further known for having added the terms '' trade creation'' and '' trade diversion'' to the canon of economics in 1950. He also made important contributions to the theory of international trade and to the history of economic thought. While he was at Chicago, Viner co-edited the ''Journal of Political Economy'' with Frank Knight. His work, ''Studies in the Theory of International Trade'' (1937), discusses the
history of economic thought The history of economic thought is the study of the philosophies of the different thinkers and theories in the subjects that later became political economy and economics, from the ancient world to the present day. This field encompasses many d ...
and is a historical source for the Bullionist controversy in 19th-century Britain.


Atomic bomb

Viner spoke at the Conference on Atomic Energy Control in 1945, stating "that the
atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
was the cheapest way yet devised of killing human beings" and that atomic bombs "will be peacemaking in effect," perhaps making him the founder of nuclear deterrence.


Major publications

* "Some Problems of Logical Method in Political Economy", 1917, ''JPE'' * "Price Policies: the determination of market price", 1921. * ''Dumping: A problem in international trade'', 1923. * ''Canada's Balance of International Indebtedness: 1900–1913'', 1924. * "The Utility Concept in Value Theory and its Critics", 1925, ''JPE''. * * * "Mills' Behavior of Prices", 1929, ''QJE'' * "Costs Curves and Supply Curves," ''Zeitschrift für Nationalökonomie'', 3, pp. 23–46. Reprinted in R. B. Emmett, ed. 2002, ''The Chicago Tradition in Economics, 1892–1945'', Routledge, v. 6, pp
192–215
* "The Doctrine of Comparative Costs", 1932, ''WWA'' * "Inflation as a Possible Remedy for the Depression", 1933, ''Proceedings of Institute of Public Affairs, Univ. of Georgia''
"Mr. Keynes on the Causes of Unemployment"
1936, ''QJE''. *
via Mises Institute
* "The Short View and the Long in Economic Policy," ''American Economic Review'', 30(1), Part 1 1940, pp
1–15
* "Marshall's Economics, in Relation to the Man and to his Times", 1941, ''AER'' * ''Trade Relations Between Free-Market and Controlled Economies'', 1943. * "International Relations between State-Controlled National Economies", 1944, ''AER''. * "Prospects for Foreign Trade in the Post-War World", 1946, ''Manchester Statistical Society''. * "Power Versus Plenty as Objectives of Foreign Policy in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries", 1948, ''World Politics'' * "Bentham and J.S. Mill: the Utilitarian Background", 1949, ''AER'' * ''The Customs Union Issue'', 1950. * "A Modest Proposal for Some Stress on Scholarship in Graduate Training", 1950 (reprinted in 1991) * ''International Economics'', 1951. * ''International Trade and Economic Development'', 1952. * "Schumpeter's History of Economic Analysis," ''American Economic Review'', 44(5), 1954, pp
894–910
* "'Fashion' in Economic Thought", 1957, ''Report of 6th Conference of Princeton Graduate Alumni'' * "International Trade Theory and its Present-Day Relevance", 1955, ''Economics and Public Policy'' * ''The Long View and the Short: Studies in Economic Theory'', 1958. * "Stability and Progress: the poorer countries' problem", 1958, in Hague, editor, ''Stability and Progress in the World Economy'' * ''Five Lectures on Economics and Freedom'', 1959 (Wabash Lectures, publ. 1991) * "The Intellectual History of Laissez-Faire", 1960, ''J Law Econ'' * "Hayek on Freedom and Coercion", 1960, ''Southern Econ J'' * "Relative Abundance of the Factors and International Trade", 1962, ''Indian EJ'' * "The Necessary and Desirable Range of Discretion to be Allowed to a Monetary Authority", 1962, in Yeager, editor, ''In Search of a Monetary Constitution'' * "'Possessive Individualism' as Original Sin", 1963, ''Canadian J of Econ & Poli Sci'

* "The Earlier Letters of John Stuart Mill", 1963, ''Univ of Toronto Quarterly'' * "The Economist in History", 1963, ''American Economic Review'', 53(2), pp
1–22
* "The United States as a Welfare State", 1963, in Higgenbotham, editor, ''Man, Science, Learning and Education'' * ''Problems of Monetary Control'', 1964. * "Comment on my 1936 Review of Keynes", 1964, in Lekachman, editor, ''Keynes's General Theory'' * "Introduction", in J. Rae, ''Life of Adam Smith'', 1965. * "Adam Smith", 1968, in Sills, editor, ''International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences'' * "Mercantilist Thought", 1968, in Sills, editor, ''International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences'' * "Man's Economic Status", 1968, in Clifford, editor, ''Man Versus Society in Eighteenth-Century Britain''. * "Satire and Economics in the Augustan Age of Satire", 1970, in Miller et al., editors, ''The Augustan Milieu'' * ''The Role of Providence in the Social Order'', 1972. * ''Religious Thought and Economic Society: Four Chapters of an Unfinished Work by Jacob Viner'', ed. by J. Melitz and D. Winch, History of Poli Econ., 1978. *


Notes


References


Further reading

* *


External links


Jacob Viner Papers
at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library,
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 ...

Profile of Jacob Viner
at th

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Viner, Jacob 1892 births 1970 deaths Canadian people of Romanian-Jewish descent Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Chicago faculty Stanford University faculty Yale University faculty Princeton University faculty Academic staff of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies 20th-century Canadian economists Jewish Canadian writers Trade economists Historians of economic thought Writers from Montreal Academics from Montreal Presidents of the American Economic Association 20th-century American economists Corresponding fellows of the British Academy Chicago School economists Journal of Political Economy editors Members of the American Philosophical Society