Sir Roy George Douglas Allen, CBE, FBA (3 June 1906 – 29 September 1983) was an English

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 ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

statistician A statistician is a person who works with Theory, theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private sector, private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, a ...

, also member of the International Statistical Institute.

Life

Allen was born in Worcester and educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester, from which he won a scholarship to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He gained a First Class Honours in

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

, ranking top of his year as the Senior Wrangler. He became a lecturer at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(LSE) later becoming Professor of Statistics. He wrote many papers and books on mathematical economics including the paper on ''A Reconsideration of the Theory of Value'' published 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 ...

'' in 1934 with Sir

John Hicks Sir John Richard Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economics ...

. Other books include: ''Mathematical Analysis for Economists'' (1938), ''Statistics for Economists'' (1949), ''Mathematical Economics'' (1956), and ''Macroeconomic Theory'' (1967). Allen was knighted in 1966 for his services to economics and became president of the Royal Statistical Society, who awarded him the Guy Medal in Gold in 1978. He was also treasurer of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

of which he was a fellow (FBA). He introduced the concept of " partial elasticity of substitution" to economics in his 1938 book ''Mathematical Analysis for Economists''. Allen became a fellow of Sidney Sussex, Cambridge and died in 1983. He had a son, Jeremy, who was a co-founder of the consultancy International Planning and Research, and a grandson, Dion.

Publications (selection)

* "The Nature of Indifference Curves", 1934, RES. * "The Concept of the Arc Elasticity of Demand", 1934, RES * "A Reconsideration of the Theory of Value", 1934, Economica, Part II 1(2), pp
196-219.
(Part I by J.R. Hicks) * Family Expenditure with A.L. Bowley, 1935. * Mathematical Analysis for Economists, 1938. 1st-page chapte
links.
Review fragments by J.R. Hick

and Carl F. Christ (1st paragraph

* "The Supply of Engineering Labor under Boom Conditions", with B. Thomas, 1939, Economic Journal. * Statistics for Economists, 1949. Review by Wilhelm Winkler

(German). * "Index Numbers of Retail Prices, 1938-51", 1952, Applied Statistics. * Mathematical Economics, 1956. Review fragments by Oskar Morgenstern

C.F. Carte

and Carl F. Christ (2nd and 3rd para.

* Macroeconomic Theory, 1967. * "On Official Statistics and Official Statisticians", 1970, J of Royal Statistical Society. * Index Numbers in Theory and Practice, 1975. * Introduction to National Accounts Statistics, 1980.

References

Sources

;Obituaries * E. Grebenik Roy George Douglas Allen 1906–1983,

Journal of the Royal Statistical Society The ''Journal of the Royal Statistical Society'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of statistics. It comprises three series and is published by Oxford University Press for the Royal Statistical Society. History The Statistical Society of ...

. Series A (General), Vol. 147, No. 5 (1984), pp. 706–707. * Obituary: Sir Roy Allen, CBE, FBA (1906-1983, The Statistician, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Dec., 1984), pp. 401–406. (includes list of Allen's publications.)

External links

New School: Roy G. D. Allen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Roy George Douglas 1906 births 1983 deaths Academics of the London School of Economics Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English economists Fellows of the American Statistical Association Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Scientists from Worcester, England Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society Knights Bachelor People educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester 20th-century English mathematicians 20th-century British economists Fellows of the Econometric Society Presidents of the Econometric Society