Tibor de Scitovsky, also known as Tibor Scitovsky (November 3, 1910 – June 1, 2002), was a Hungarian-born,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
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 ...
best known for his writing on the nature of people's happiness in relation to consumption. He was an
associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...
and professor of
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 ...
at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
from 1946 through 1958 and an Eberle Professor of Economics from 1970 until his retirement in 1976, when he became professor emeritus. In honor of his deep contributions to economic analysis, he was elected Distinguished Fellow of the
American Economic Association
The American Economic Association (AEA) is a learned society in the field of economics, with approximately 23,000 members. It publishes several peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Review, an ...
, member of 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 ...
, and Corresponding Fellow 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 ...
.
Life
Scitovsky was born in
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
in 1910. As the ''de'' indicates, he was born into a noble family; his father,
Tibor Scitovszky
Tibor Scitovszky de Nagykér (21 June 1875 – 12 April 1959) was a Hungarian politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1924 and 1925.Palm, C. G., & Reed, D., ''Guide to the Hoover Institution Archives'' (Stanford: Hoover ...
, held the post of Foreign Minister. He studied at the Pázmány Péter University (from which he held an undergraduate degree in law), the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, and 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 ...
. He came to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
on a traveling fellowship and enlisted in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
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 ...
, in counter-intelligence. Because he still had family in German-allied Hungary, he changed his name during this time to Thomas Dennis.
After a spell at
Stanford
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...
from 1946 to 1958, he left for
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
*George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer to ...
and remained there until 1968, although he was on leave to do research at the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
.
Starting as early as 1959, he began an examination of the nature of human well-being from a broader viewpoint than is customary among economists.
Scitovsky married and later divorced health economist Anne A. Scitovsky.
Major works
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1940), "A study of interest and capital", ''Economica''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1941), "A note on welfare propositions in economics", ''RES''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1941), "
Capital accumulation
Capital accumulation is the dynamic that motivates the pursuit of profit, involving the investment of money or any financial asset with the goal of increasing the initial monetary value of said asset as a financial return whether in the form ...
, employment and price rigidity", ''RES''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1942), "A reconsideration of the theory of tariffs", ''RES''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1943), "A note on profit maximization and its implications", ''RES''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1951), ''Welfare and competition: the economics of a fully employed economy''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor; Shaw, E. S.; Tarshis, L. (1951), ''Mobilizing resources for war: the economic alternatives''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1954), "Two concepts of external economies", ''JPE''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1958), ''Economic theory and Western European integration''.
*
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1960), "Standards for the performance of our economic system", ''AER''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1962), "On the principle of consumer's sovereignty", ''AER''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1964), ''Papers on welfare and growth''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1969), ''Money and the balance of payments''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor; Little, I. M. D.; Scott, M. F. G (1970), ''Industry and trade in some developing countries''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1972), "What's wrong with the arts is what's wrong with society", ''AER''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1972), "The producer society", ''De Economist''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1973), "The place of economic welfare in human welfare", ''QREB''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1974), "Inequalities: open and hidden, measured and immeasurable", ''Annals of AAPSS''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1974), "Are men rational or economists wrong?", in ''Nations and Households in Economic Growth''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1976), ''The joyless economy: an inquiry into human satisfaction and consumer dissatisfaction''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1978), "Market power and inflation", ''Economica''.
* Scitovsky, Tibor (1978), "Asymmetries in economics", ''
Scottish Journal of Political Economy
''Scottish Journal of Political Economy'' is a scholarly political economy journal published by the Scottish Economic Society.