Sir Hans Wolfgang Singer (29 November 1910 – 26 February 2006) was a development economist

Development economics

Development Economics is a branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low-income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic growth and structural change but also on improving the potential for the mass of the population, for example,...

 best known for the Singer-Prebisch thesis

Singer-Prebisch thesis

The Singer–Prebisch thesis postulates that terms of trade, between primary products and manufactured goods, deteriorate in time...

, which states that the terms of trade

Terms of trade

In international economics and international trade, terms of trade or TOT is /. In layman's terms it means what quantity of imports can be purchased through the sale of a fixed quantity of exports...

 move against producers of primary products. He is one of the primary figures of heterodox economics

Heterodox economics

"Heterodox economics" refers to approaches or to schools of economic thought that are considered outside of "mainstream economics". Mainstream economists sometimes assert that it has little or no influence on the vast majority of academic economists in the English speaking world. "Mainstream...

.

Biography

Singer was born in Elberfeld

Elberfeld

Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929.-History:The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "elverfelde" was in a document of 1161...

, Germany in 1910. A German Jew

History of the Jews in Germany

The presence of Jews in Germany has been established since the early 4th century. The community prospered under Charlemagne, but suffered during the Crusades...

, Singer had intended to become a medical doctor before being inspired to study economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

 after attending a series of lectures by prominent economists Joseph Schumpeter

Joseph Schumpeter

Joseph Alois Schumpeter was an Austrian-Hungarian-American economist and political scientist. He popularized the term "creative destruction" in economics.-Life:...

 and Arthur Spiethoff in Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

. Singer fled the rise of Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

 in 1933, arriving in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 as a refugee

Refugee

A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...

. In 1933, Schumpeter convinced John Maynard Keynes

John Maynard Keynes

John Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes of Tilton, CB FBA , was a British economist whose ideas have profoundly affected the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, as well as the economic policies of governments...

 of Cambridge University

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 to accept Singer as one of his first PhD candidates, and Singer received his doctorate in 1936. Under Keynes, he produced two papers in 1937 and 1940 studying unemployment. Keynes also helped secure Singer's speedy release after his former student was interned by the British government at the start of the Second World War. In 1938, Singer applied for British citizenship, listing as references Keynes, William Beveridge

William Beveridge

William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge KCB was a British economist and social reformer. He is best known for his 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services which served as the basis for the post-World War II welfare state put in place by the Labour government elected in 1945.Lord...

, William Temple

William Temple (archbishop)

William Temple was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Manchester , Archbishop of York , and Archbishop of Canterbury ....

 and the vice-chancellor of Manchester University. His request was granted in 1946.

In 1947, he was one of the first three economists to join the new Economics Department of the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, in which he remained for the next two decades. During his time at the United Nations, Singer was the Director of the Economic Division of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...

 (UNIDO), Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), and was closely involved in the creation of the Bretton Woods Framework

Bretton Woods system

The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the world's major industrial states in the mid 20th century...

 and the post-World War II international financial institutions.

He published a 1950 empirical study examining the costs of international trade, drawing criticism from fellow economists Jacob Viner

Jacob Viner

Jacob Viner was a Canadian economist and is considered with Frank Knight and Henry Simons one of the "inspiring" mentors of the early Chicago School of Economics in the 1930s: he was one of the leading figures of the Chicago faculty.- Biography :Viner was born in 1892 in Montreal, Quebec to...

 and Gottfried Haberler

Gottfried Haberler

Gottfried von Haberler was an economist. He worked in particular on international trade....

. The led to his famous co-credit with Raul Prebisch

Raúl Prebisch

Raúl Prebisch was an Argentine economist known for his contribution to structuralist economics, in particular the Singer–Prebisch thesis that formed the basis of economic dependency theory. He is sometimes considered to be a neo-Marxist though this label is misleading...

 for the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis. However, the two economists did not collaborate, having come to similar conclusions separately. Singer's supporters are quick to point out that it appears that Singer wrote down the thesis before the more well-known Prebisch. The fundamental claim of the hypothesis is that, in a world system in which poorer nations specialize in primary products such as raw minerals and agricultural products that are then shipped to industrialized nations that, in turn, make advanced products to be sold to poorer nations, all of the benefits of international trade will go to the wealthy nations.

As a result of this deduction Singer was a passionate advocate for increased foreign aid in a variety of forms to the developing world to offset the disproportionate gain to developed nations of trade. He attempted to create a 'soft-loan' fund, which would offer loans at interest rates below market rates to be administered by the United Nations, but was systematically blocked by the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, who wished to retain control of money flowing out of the UN. He was thus considered "one of the wild men of the UN" by Eugene R. Black

Eugene R. Black

Eugene Robert Black was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve from May 9, 1933 to August 15, 1934. His namesake, Eugene "Gene" Robert Black, Sr., was the first in the family to use the "Sr." designation; Gene's son became Eugene Robert Black, Jr.-Biography:He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and...

 of the World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

 and American Senator

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 Eugene McCarthy

Eugene McCarthy

Eugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first...

. His ideas were influential in the establishment of the Bank's International Development Association

International Development Association

The International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...

, the United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Development Programme

The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...

 and the World Food Programme

World Food Programme

The World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...

.

Fellow economist Sir Alec Cairncross has said of Singer that "There are few of the developing countries that he has not visited and still fewer that he has not advised. He must have addressed a wider variety of academics and a wider variety of places about a wider variety of subjects than any other economist, living or dead." Singer, like Prebisch, was influential on Neo-Marxist development theorists such as Paul Baran

Paul Baran

Paul Baran was a Polish American engineer who was a pioneer in the development of computer networks.He invented packet switching techniques, and went on to start several companies and develop other technologies that are an essential part of the Internet and other modern digital...

 and Andre Gunder Frank

Andre Gunder Frank

Andre Gunder Frank was a German-American economic historian and sociologist who promoted "dependency theory" after 1970 and "World Systems Theory" after 1984...

. However, he was not normally considered a Neo-Marxist himself, nor did he consider himself one.

In 1969, he left the UN to join the influential Institute of Development Studies

Institute of Development Studies

The Institute of Development Studies based at the University of Sussex is a global organisation for research, teaching and communications on international development....

 (IDS) at the University of Sussex

University of Sussex

The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He produced about 30 books under his name and nearly 300 other publications. The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) awarded its Honorary Fellowship to Hans Singer in 1977. Singer was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

 in 1994. In 2001 the UN World Food Program awarded him the Food for Life award in recognition of his contribution to the battle against world hunger. http://www.wfp.org/newsroom/press_releases/2001/1123a.htm In November 2004, Singer was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award from the Development Studies Association. http://www.devstud.org.uk/conference/lifetime-award.htm

Singer died in Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

, UK on 26 February 2006.

In commemoration and in honour of Sir Hans Singer the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

German Development Institute

The German Development Institute / is one of the leading Think Tanks for development policy worldwide. This has been attested in January 2011 by the ranking of the Global “Go-To Think Tanks” Report: The DIE ranks number 4 in the category of “Top 25 International Development Think Tanks“...

 and the Institute of Development Studies initiated the „Hans Singer Memorial Lecture on Global Development“, which alternates between Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

 and Brighton on an annual basis. The first Memorial Lecture was given by the renowned development economist Paul Collier

Paul Collier

Paul Collier, CBE is a Professor of Economics, Director for the Centre for the Study of African Economies at The University of Oxford and Fellow of St Antony's College. From 1998 – 2003 he was the director of the Development Research Group of the World Bank.-Life:Collier is a specialist in...

 of the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 in May 2009 in Bonn. The second Lecture was held in October 2010 in Brighton with Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Jomo Kwame Sundaram , known as Jomo, is a prominent Malaysian economist, who has served as the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs since 2005...

, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states following a recommendation of the United Nations General Assembly.It is one of five regional commissions.The ECA...

 (UNECA). The third Memorial Lecture was given by Professor Stephen Chan

Stephen Chan (academic)

Stephen Chan, OBE, is a professor of international relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies.-References:...

, OBE of the School of Oriental and African Studies

School of Oriental and African Studies

The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...

 at University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

in November 2011 at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) in Bonn.

External links

• Hans Singer, EconomyProfessor.com
• Singer archive at the British Library for Development Studies
• UN Chronicle biography
• Profile at The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS)

Obituaries

• The Guardian obituary by Richard Jolly
• The Times
• The Independent obituary by John Toye (subscription only)
• The Economist (subscription only)