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Joseph John Spengler (19 November 1902 – 2 January 1991) was an American economist, statistician, and historian of economic thought.Kelley (March 1992), p. 142 A recipient of the 1951 John Frederick Lewis Award of 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 ...
and the 1981 Distinguished Fellow Award from the History of Economics Society, he was
Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...
of Economics at
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
at the time of his death.


Biography

Spengler was born in Piqua, Ohio. He graduated from the Piqua High School and initially studied journalism at college, but dropped out after his first year to become a crime reporter. A year later he returned to higher education, at first studying sociology and political science, but eventually gravitating to economics. He received his B.A., M.A., and PhD from
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
, where his 1930 doctoral dissertation was a comparative study on the fertility rates of native-born and immigrant women in the United States. After a stint teaching at the
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
he joined the faculty of
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
in 1932, initially as a visiting professor, and became a permanent member of the faculty in 1934. He remained there until his retirement as the James B. Duke Professor of Economics in 1972. With Earl J. Hamilton, Spengler established the university's first graduate level program in Economic History as well as the History of Political Economy (HOPE) research group. During World War II, he worked for the Office of Price Administration as the price executive for the Southeastern region of the United States and over the years held several other advisory posts to the US government and the United Nations. His interest in population studies and the demographic aspects of economics reflected in his doctoral dissertation, became a major focus of his research and writing throughout his career. His first book, ''France Faces Depopulation'', published in 1938, examined the cultural and political causes of France's pre-World War II population decline, and one of his last major books was ''The Economics of Individual and Population Aging'', published in 1980. In 1972, Duke University Press published a collection of his classic essays in the area: ''Population Economics: Selected Essays of Joseph J. Spengler''. Joseph Spengler died in
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
from
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
at the age of 88.Cook (3 January 1991) He was survived by his wife, the former Dorothy Marie Kress. The couple married in 1927 and were co-authors of "Maintenance of Postwar Full Employment" (1944). Spengler's 1978 book, ''Facing Zero Population Growth: Reactions and Interpretations, Past and Present'' has the dedication:
To Dorothy Kress Spengler, my wife, companion, and co-worker for fifty years
Spengler was a member of both 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 ...
(1954) and 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 ...
(1964). In 2004, the History of Economics Society established the annual Joseph J. Spengler Prize for the best book published on the history of economics.History of Economics Society
Joseph J. Spengler Prize


Selected publications of Joseph J. Spengler

* 1938. ''France Faces Depopulation''. Duke Univ. Press. First-page chapter-previe
links
* 1950. "Vertical Integration and Antitrust Policy," ''Journal of Political Economy'', 58(4),
p. 347
352 (from
JSTOR JSTOR ( ; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources founded in 1994. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary source ...
). * 1951. "The Population Obstacle to Economic Betterment," ''American Economic Review'', 41(2),
p. 343
354. * 1964. "Economic Thought of Islam: Ibn Khaldun," ''Comparative Studies in Society and History'', 6(3),
p. 268
306. * 1966. "Values and Fertility Analysis," ''Demography'', 3(1),
p. 109
130. * 1966. "The Economist and the Population Question," ''American Economic Review'', 56(1/2), pp. 1–24 * 1971. ''Indian Economic Thought: A Preface to Its History''. Duke University Press. . * 1972. ''Population Economics: Selected Essays of Joseph J. Spengler'', Robert S. Smith ''et al.'', ed. Duke Univ. Press. Revie
extract.
* 1980. ''Origins of Economic Thought and Justice'', Southern Illinois University Press. 1st-page chapte
links
* 1980. ''The Economics of Individual and Population Aging''. With Robert L. Clark
Description
& chapter-previe
links
on
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.


Notes and references


Sources

*Cook, Joan
"Joseph Spengler, 88, Economics Professor At Duke University"
''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', 3 January 1991. *Cook, Robert Cecil (ed.), "Spengler, Joseph John"
''Who's Who in American Education: A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Living Educators of the United States''
Volume 8, 1938 * Durden, Robert Franklin
''The Launching of Duke University, 1924-1949''
Duke University Press, 1993. *Kelley, Allen C.
"Joseph J. Spengler (November 19, 1902-January 2, 1991)"
''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'', Vol. 136, No. 1, (March 1992), pp. 142–147 *Silk, Leonard

''New York Times'', 4 January 1991 *Spengler, Dorothy K. and Spengler, Joseph J, "Maintenance of Postwar Full Employment" in ''The Winning Plans in the Pabst Postwar Employment Awards'', Pabst Brewing Company, 1944, pp. 79–83 *Spengler, Joseph J
''Facing Zero Population Growth: Reactions and Interpretations, Past and Present''
Duke University Press, 1978. ;Further reading * Blaug, Mark (ed.), "Spengler, Joseph L.", ''Who's Who in Economics'' (3d edition), E. Elgar, 1999. * Silk, Leonard
"The Economics of Joseph J. Spengler"
''Demography India'', 14 (1), 1986, pp. 137–145 * Sobel, Irvin, "Joseph J. Spengler: The Institutionalist Approach to the History of Economics" in ''Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology'', Vol.1, 1983, pp. 243–270.


External links



Duke University, January 14, 1972
CV: Joseph J. Spengler
Duke University Archives.
Joseph J. Spengler
Duke University
Joseph John Spengler Papers, [ca. 1896
/nowiki>-1987">a. 1896">Joseph John Spengler Papers, [ca. 1896
/nowiki>-1987 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spengler, Joseph J. 1902 births 1991 deaths Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Ohio State University faculty University of Arizona faculty University of Chicago faculty University of Pittsburgh faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Duke University faculty Historians of economic thought Fellows of the American Statistical Association 20th-century American historians Presidents of the American Economic Association Distinguished fellows of the American Economic Association Economists from Arizona 20th-century American economists Members of the American Philosophical Society