The Gypsy Economist

This book offers the first intellectual biography of the Anglo Australian economist, Colin Clark. Despite taking the economics world by storm with a mercurial ability for statistical analysis, Clark's work has been largely overlooked in the 30 years since his death. His career was punctuated by a number of firsts. He was the first economist to derive the concept of GNP, the first to broach development economics and to foresee the re-emergence of India and China within the global economy. In 1945, he predicted the rise and persistence of inflation when taxation levels exceeded 25 per cent of GNP. And he was also the first economist to debunk post-war predictions of mass hunger by arguing that rapid population growth engendered economic development. Clark wandered through the fields of applied economics in much the same way as he rambled through the English countryside and the Australian bush. His imaginative wanderings qualify him as the eminent gypsy economist for the 20thcentury.

Auteur

Alex Millmow was formerly an associate professor in economics at Federation University Australia where he is now an honorary research fellow. He is also an honorary research fellow at the School of History, Australian National University. He is currently President of the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia. His last book was A History of Australasian Economic Thought IN 2017.

Résumé
"This biography is a most illuminating account of Clark and his work, the man and his times, and provides comprehensive assessment of his many economic contributions. The picture painted is of a most stimulating and heterodox thinker, a man who had no formal training in economics or economic methodology, and a man who revelled being annoying!" (Adrian Darnell, EH Net, eh.net, April, 2022)
"This book is a very interesting read and a significant resource for the historian interested in the history of economic thought, Australian economic history and Catholic politics. It offers insights into an academically gifted and productive contributor to Australian and global economics. It is well worth the read and would contribute ... the quagmire of academic and bureaucratic politics in London and the Antipodes during the larger part of the twentieth century." (David Gilchrist, Australian Historical Studies, April 4, 2022)
"The work draws upon a wide array of source material from public and private archives, extensive interviews and Clark's personal papers. The quality of the writing is impressive and while Millmow is generally sympathetic to Clark, the book is not a hagiography. ... The Gypsy Economist is an important contribution to the history of economic thought and to the history of ideas in the twentieth century. It is a pleasure to read and is highly recommended." (Selwyn Cornish, History Australia, March 31, 2022)

Contenu
Chapter 1 Introduction.- PART I: 1905-1937 The Makings of an Applied Economist.-
Chapter 2 Brilliant Beginnings.- Chapter 3 Cambridge and Fabianism.- Chapter 4 Becoming the World's Economic Statistician.- Part II: 1937-1952 Australian Idyll.- Chapter 5 Great Southern Land.- Chapter 6 Forsaking Keynes.- Chapter 7 Three classic contributions.- Chapter 8 Spiritual Awakening.- Chapter 9 Two Revelations.- Chapter 10 Macroeconomics and the Pursuit of Ruralism.- Chapter 11The Tarmac Economist.- PART III: 1953-1969 A Gypsy Scholar at Oxford.- Chapter 12 Research Leadership.- Chapter 13The Man who Smashed Convention.- Chapter 14 A Critical Eye on British Economic Policy.- Chapter 15 The Grand Soothsayer.- Chapter 16 Slaying the Doomsayers.- Chapter 17 Angling for Australia.- Part IV: 1969-1989 Australia Resumed.- Chapter 18 The Monash Years.- Chapter 19 At Heaven's Gate.- Bibliography.- Index.