Walter Isard
Encyclopedia
Walter Isard was a prominent American economist, the principal founder of the discipline of Regional Science
, as well as one of the main founders of the discipline of Peace Science
.
. He next went to Harvard University
, studying under Alvin Hansen
and Abbott Usher, who stimulated his interest in location theory
. Isard left Harvard in 1941 without taking a degree, moving instead to the University of Chicago
, where he studied under Frank H. Knight, Oscar Lange, and Jacob Viner
. In 1942, Isard obtained a position with the National Resources Planning Board, in Washington, D.C., while completing his dissertation on building cycles and transportation development. A Quaker, he obtained conscientious objector
status during the war, and en lieu of military service he served as an orderly in a state mental hospital. It was during this period that he translated into English the works of some of the principal German location theorists. Now focusing primarily on location issues, Isard obtained a part-time teaching position at Harvard in 1945, and did some work on the location of the U.S. steel industry, as well as some work on the costs and benefits of atomic power.
At Harvard, Isard became well acquainted with Wassily Leontief
and helped him adapt his idea of an input-output model
to a local economy. Between 1949 and 1953 Isard was employed as a research associate at Harvard, but teaching a course, designed by himself, on location theory and regional development. Through this course, and through discussions with other economists, Isard managed to attract many other scholars to these fields. Already by 1948 the American Economic Association
was organizing sessions on regional development at its annual conference. At the 1950 American Economic Association meeting, Isard met with 26 other like-minded economists and came up with a clearer idea of what the newly emerging field of regional science should look like: it would be interdisciplinary, and it required some novel concepts, data, and techniques. As part of the effort to develop regional science Isard found himself at the center of a network of scholars from economics, city planning, political science, sociology, and geography.
In 1953 Isard moved to MIT, taking a position in the Department of City and Regional Planning. It was while he was at MIT that the name regional science solidified as the name for his new field. In 1954 the Regional Science Association
was created, with Isard as its first president and then honorary chairman. In 1956 Isard left MIT for the University of Pennsylvania
, attracted by the opportunity to head up a new PhD-awarding academic department, the department of Regional Science. Isard worked quickly to make regional science widely recognized, publishing three important books over the next four years: Location and Space Economy (1956); Industrial Complex Analysis and Regional Development (1959); and Methods of Regional Analysis (1960). In 1956 he also helped found the Regional Science Research Institute at Penn, and in 1958 the new field's flagship journal, the Journal of Regional Science
. In 1960 Isard worked to spread regional science to Europe, and in 1962 he helped set up regional science associations for Latin America and East Asia.
In 1963 Isard assembled a group of scholars in Malmö, Sweden, for the purpose of establishing the Peace Research Society. In 1973, this group became the Peace Science Society. Like regional science, peace science was viewed as an interdisciplinary and international effort to develop a special set of concepts, techniques and data. In 1977 Isard stepped down as chair of the department of regional science at Penn in order to devote more time to peace science, and moved to Cornell University
in 1979. In 1985, Isard was elected a member of the Economic Sciences section of the National Academy of Sciences
.
Isard died in Philadelphia on November 6, 2010.
Regional science
Regional science is a field of the social sciences concerned with analytical approaches to problems that are specifically urban, rural, or regional...
, as well as one of the main founders of the discipline of Peace Science
Peace and conflict studies
Peace and conflict studies is a social science field that identifies and analyses violent and nonviolent behaviours as well as the structural mechanisms attending social conflicts with a view towards understanding those processes which lead to a more desirable human condition...
.
Life and contributions
Born on April 19, 1919 in Philadelphia, Isard graduated with honors at the age of 20 from Temple UniversityTemple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
. He next went to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, studying under Alvin Hansen
Alvin Hansen
Alvin Harvey Hansen , often referred to as "the American Keynes," was a professor of economics at Harvard, a widely read author on current economic issues, and an influential advisor to the government who helped create the Council of Economic Advisors and the Social security system...
and Abbott Usher, who stimulated his interest in location theory
Location theory
Location theory is concerned with the geographic location of economic activity; it has become an integral part of economic geography, regional science, and spatial economics. Location theory addresses the questions of what economic activities are located where and why...
. Isard left Harvard in 1941 without taking a degree, moving instead to the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he studied under Frank H. Knight, Oscar Lange, and 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...
. In 1942, Isard obtained a position with the National Resources Planning Board, in Washington, D.C., while completing his dissertation on building cycles and transportation development. A Quaker, he obtained conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
status during the war, and en lieu of military service he served as an orderly in a state mental hospital. It was during this period that he translated into English the works of some of the principal German location theorists. Now focusing primarily on location issues, Isard obtained a part-time teaching position at Harvard in 1945, and did some work on the location of the U.S. steel industry, as well as some work on the costs and benefits of atomic power.
At Harvard, Isard became well acquainted with Wassily Leontief
Wassily Leontief
Wassily Wassilyovich Leontief , was a Russian-American economist notable for his research on how changes in one economic sector may have an effect on other sectors. Leontief won the Nobel Committee's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1973, and three of his doctoral students have also...
and helped him adapt his idea of an input-output model
Input-output model
In economics, an input-output model is a quantitative economic technique that represents the interdependencies between different branches of national economy or between branches of different, even competing economies. Wassily Leontief developed this type of analysis and took the Nobel Memorial...
to a local economy. Between 1949 and 1953 Isard was employed as a research associate at Harvard, but teaching a course, designed by himself, on location theory and regional development. Through this course, and through discussions with other economists, Isard managed to attract many other scholars to these fields. Already by 1948 the American Economic Association
American Economic Association
The American Economic Association, or AEA, is a learned society in the field of economics, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It publishes one of the most prestigious academic journals in economics: the American Economic Review...
was organizing sessions on regional development at its annual conference. At the 1950 American Economic Association meeting, Isard met with 26 other like-minded economists and came up with a clearer idea of what the newly emerging field of regional science should look like: it would be interdisciplinary, and it required some novel concepts, data, and techniques. As part of the effort to develop regional science Isard found himself at the center of a network of scholars from economics, city planning, political science, sociology, and geography.
In 1953 Isard moved to MIT, taking a position in the Department of City and Regional Planning. It was while he was at MIT that the name regional science solidified as the name for his new field. In 1954 the Regional Science Association
Regional Science Association
The Regional Science Association is a cluster of scholarly societies whose members engage in regional science.-Origins:In the late 1940s and the early 1950s, the economist Walter Isard worked to draw together a group of academics interested in analyzing regional development...
was created, with Isard as its first president and then honorary chairman. In 1956 Isard left MIT for the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, attracted by the opportunity to head up a new PhD-awarding academic department, the department of Regional Science. Isard worked quickly to make regional science widely recognized, publishing three important books over the next four years: Location and Space Economy (1956); Industrial Complex Analysis and Regional Development (1959); and Methods of Regional Analysis (1960). In 1956 he also helped found the Regional Science Research Institute at Penn, and in 1958 the new field's flagship journal, the Journal of Regional Science
Journal of Regional Science
The Journal of Regional Science was the first journal in the field of Regional science. Contributors hold positions in a variety of academic disciplines: economics, geography, agricultural economics, rural sociology, urban and regional planning, and civil engineering...
. In 1960 Isard worked to spread regional science to Europe, and in 1962 he helped set up regional science associations for Latin America and East Asia.
In 1963 Isard assembled a group of scholars in Malmö, Sweden, for the purpose of establishing the Peace Research Society. In 1973, this group became the Peace Science Society. Like regional science, peace science was viewed as an interdisciplinary and international effort to develop a special set of concepts, techniques and data. In 1977 Isard stepped down as chair of the department of regional science at Penn in order to devote more time to peace science, and moved to Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in 1979. In 1985, Isard was elected a member of the Economic Sciences section of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
.
Isard died in Philadelphia on November 6, 2010.
Selected books
- Isard, Walter. 1952. Atomic Power, an Economic and Social Analysis; a Study in Industrial Location and Regional Economic Development. New York: Blakiston.
- Isard, Walter. 1956. Location and Space-economy; a General Theory Relating to Industrial Location, Market Areas, Land Use, Trade, and Urban Structure. Cambridge: Published jointly by the Technology Press of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wiley.
- Isard, Walter. 1957. Municipal Costs and Revenues Resulting from Community Growth. Wellesley, Mass: Chandler-Davis Publ. Co.
- Isard, Walter. 1959. Industrial Complex Analysis and Regional Development; a Case Study of Refinery-petrochemical-synthetic-fiber Complexes and Puerto Rico. Cambridge: Technology Press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Isard, Walter. 1960. Methods of Regional Analysis; an Introduction to Regional Science. Cambridge: Published jointly by the Technology Press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wiley, New York.
- Isard, Walter. 1969. General Theory: Social, Political, Economic, and Regional, with Particular Reference to Decision-making Analysis. Cambridge, Mass: M.I.T. Press.
- Isard, Walter. 1971. Regional Input-output Study: Recollections, Reflections, and Diverse Notes on the Philadelphia Experience. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
- Isard, Walter. 1975. Introduction to Regional Science. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall.
- Isard, Walter. 1972. Ecologic-economic Analysis for Regional Development; Some Initial Explorations with Particular Reference to Recreational Resource Use and Environmental Planning. New York: Free Press.
- Peace Research Society (International). 1969. Vietnam: Some Basic Issues and Alternatives. Cambridge, Mass: Schenkman Pub. Co.