Ragnar Nurkse
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Ragnar Wilhelm Nurkse (5 October 1907, Käru,
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
– 6 May 1959, Le Mont-Pèlerin,
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 ...
) was an Estonian-American economist and policy maker mainly in the fields of international finance and economic development. He is considered the pioneer of Balanced Growth Theory.


Life

Ragnar Nurkse was born in Käru village, in the then
Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...
of the former
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
(now in
Järva County Järva County ( or ''Järvamaa''; ; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the central part of the country and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Jõgeva County to the south-east, Viljandi County to the south, Pärnu County t ...
,
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
), son of an
Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...
father who worked himself up from lumberjack to estate manager, and an Estonian-Swedish mother. His parents emigrated to
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
in 1928. After finishing primary school, Nurkse attended the '' Domschule zu Reval'' in
Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
, the most prestigious, German-language secondary school in the city, from where he graduated with higher honors in 1926. He continued his education at the law and economics' departments of the
University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.
in 1926–1928, and then in economics at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
. He graduated with a first class degree in economics, under professor Frederick Ogilvie, in 1932. He earned a Carnegie Fellowship to study at the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
from 1932 to 1934. Nurkse served in the Economic and Financial Organization of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
from 1934 to 1945, working in the Financial Section and Economic Intelligence Service. He was the financial analyst and was largely responsible for the annual Monetary Review. He was also involved with the publication of The Review of World Trade, World Economic Surveys, and the report of the Delegation on Economic Depressions entitled "The Transition from War to Peace Economy". Nurke authored the 1935 monograph ''Internationale Kapitalbewegungen'' on international capital movements. He was influential for his criticism of floating exchange rates, which he argued were at fault for the economic crises of the interwar period. According to Nurkse, floating exchange rates were subject to "cumulative and self-aggravating movements". In 1945, Nurkse accepted an appointment at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in New York City. He was a visiting lecturer at the university from 1945 to 1946, was a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in
Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...
, from 1946 to 1947, and then returned to Columbia as an associate professor of economics in 1947. In 1949, he was promoted to Full Professor of Economics, a position which he held almost until his death in 1959. Nurkse spent a sabbatical (1954–1955) at the
Nuffield College Nuffield College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. N ...
of the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, and in 1958–1959, another one studying economic development in the
University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...
, and lecturing around the world. In 1958, Ragnar Nurkse accepted a Professorship of Economics and the Director of International Finance Section position at
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 ...
. However, before he could fully resume it, when Nurkse returned to
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 ...
in the spring of 1959, he died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 51. For his 100th anniversary on 5 October 2007, the Estonian Postal Service commemorated Nurkse with an international letter stamp. A stone monument with a plaque was also unveiled across the house he was born in Käru. He was also honored earlier in 2007 by the inauguration of a Lecture Series by the Bank of Estonia and an international conference by
Tallinn University of Technology Established in 1918, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech; ) is the only Institute of technology, technical university in Estonia. TalTech, in the capital city of Tallinn, is a university for engineering, business, public administration a ...
's Technology Governance program. An economics professorship at Columbia is named in his honor. In 2013, Tallinn University of Technology named one of its departments in honor of him: The Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance.


Work

Nurkse is one of the founding fathers of Classical Development Economics. Together with Rosenstein-Rodan and Mandelbaum, he promoted a ' theory of the big push', emphasized the role of savings and capital formation in economic development, and argued that poor nations remained poor because of a '
vicious circle A vicious circle (or cycle) is a complex chain of events that reinforces itself through a feedback loop, with detrimental results. It is a system with no tendency toward equilibrium (social, economic, ecological, etc.), at least in the shor ...
of
poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
'. Among his major works are ''International Currency Experience: Lessons of the Interwar Period'' (1944), the foundation of the Bretton Woods Agreement, ''Conditions of International Monetary Equilibrium'' (1945), and ''Problems of Capital Formation in Underdeveloped Countries'' (1953).


Private life

Ragnar Nurkse married Harriet Berger of
Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...
, in 1946, and they had two sons. One of them is the poet Dennis Nurkse.


See also

* Ragnar Nurkse's balanced growth theory


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Nurkse, Ragnar. ''Trade and Development.'' Rainer Kattel, Jan A. Kregel and Erik S. Reinert, eds. London – New York: Anthem, 2009. () Collection of all key works by Nurkse. * Nurkse, Ragnar (1944). International Currency Experience: Lessons of the Interwar Period. Geneva: League of Nations. * Kattel, Rainer, Jan A. Kregel and Erik S. Reinert, eds. ''Ragnar Nurkse (1907–2007): Classical Development Economics and its Relevance for Today.'' London – New York: Anthem, 2009. () * Kukk, Kalev (2004)
(Re)discovering Ragnar Nurkse
''Kroon & Economy'' No. 1, 2004.


External links


Hans-Heinrich Bass: ''Ragnar Nurkse's Development Theory: Influences and Perceptions.'' In: R. Kattel, J. A. Kregel, E. S. Reinert (Hrsg.): ''Ragnar Nurkse (1907–2007). Classical Development Economics and its Relevance for Today''. London: Anthem Press, S. 183–202.
(PDF; 94 kB)
Ragnar Nurkse Papers at Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nurkse, Ragnar 1907 births 1959 deaths People from Türi Parish People from Kreis Pernau Estonian people of Swedish descent 20th-century Estonian economists Estonian emigrants to the United States American development economists 20th-century American economists University of Tartu alumni Columbia University faculty Alumni of the University of Edinburgh