Kurt Mandelbaum
Encyclopedia
Kurt Mandelbaum was an economist well known for his pioneering contribution in the field of the economics of development.
Kurt Mandelbaum (also known as Kurt Martin) was one of a group of emigre economists from Central Europe who played a large role in founding the discipline of development economics
in the UK, during and shortly after World War II. In general these economists doubted the usefulness of neoclassical economics
with its presumptions of smoothly operating markets and saw the role of the state as being key to the development process. The industrialization debates in the USSR in the 1920s were their starting point.
In his youth Mandelbaum was involved with leftist politics and had several years at the Frankfurt School for Social Research
. During the war worked with allied intelligence and subsequently joined the Oxford Institute of Statistics. Whilst at Oxford he undertook his study of the problems of recovery in S.E. Europe. This small book which was to become one of core texts for the new discipline, stressed
In 1950 he moved to Manchester and with his colleague W. Arthur Lewis helped establish the Department of Economics at the University of Manchester as a major centre in Development Economics research and teaching. After retiring from Manchester he worked for a further seventeen years at the Institute of Social Studies
at The Hague.
Kurt Mandelbaum (also known as Kurt Martin) was one of a group of emigre economists from Central Europe who played a large role in founding the discipline of development economics
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,...
in the UK, during and shortly after World War II. In general these economists doubted the usefulness of neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics is a term variously used for approaches to economics focusing on the determination of prices, outputs, and income distributions in markets through supply and demand, often mediated through a hypothesized maximization of utility by income-constrained individuals and of profits...
with its presumptions of smoothly operating markets and saw the role of the state as being key to the development process. The industrialization debates in the USSR in the 1920s were their starting point.
In his youth Mandelbaum was involved with leftist politics and had several years at the Frankfurt School for Social Research
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
. During the war worked with allied intelligence and subsequently joined the Oxford Institute of Statistics. Whilst at Oxford he undertook his study of the problems of recovery in S.E. Europe. This small book which was to become one of core texts for the new discipline, stressed
- the need to mobilize savings,
- the need for infrastructure,
- the extent of disguised rural unemployment,
- the need for calculating inter-industry calculations (anticipating the use of input-output analysis).
In 1950 he moved to Manchester and with his colleague W. Arthur Lewis helped establish the Department of Economics at the University of Manchester as a major centre in Development Economics research and teaching. After retiring from Manchester he worked for a further seventeen years at the Institute of Social Studies
Institute of Social Studies
The International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Hague is a unique, independent and international graduate school in the social sciences...
at The Hague.