Kenneth Arrow | |
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![]() National Medal of Science award ceremony, 2004
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Born |
Kenneth Joseph Arrow August 23, 1921 New York City, United States |
Nationality | United States |
Institution | Stanford University |
Field |
Microeconomics General equilibrium theory Social choice theory |
School or tradition |
Neoclassical economics |
Alma mater |
Columbia University City College of New York |
Doctoral advisor |
Harold Hotelling |
Doctoral students |
John C. Harsanyi Jan Kmenta Karl Shell A. Michael Spence Eric S. Maskin Roger Myerson Nancy Stokey John Geanakoplos Andrea Prat |
Influences | |
Influenced |
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Contributions |
General equilibrium theory Fundamental theorems of welfare economics Arrow's impossibility theorem Endogenous growth theory |
Awards |
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Information at IDEAS / RePEc |
Kenneth Joseph "Ken" Arrow (born August 23, 1921) is an American economist, writer, and political theorist. He is the joint winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics with John Hicks in 1972. To date, he is the youngest person to have received this award, at 51.
In economics, he is a figure in post-World War II neo-classical economic theory. Many of his former graduate students have gone on to win the Nobel Memorial Prize themselves. His most significant works are his contributions to social choice theory, notably "Arrow's impossibility theorem", and his work on general equilibrium analysis. He has also provided foundational work in many other areas of economics, including endogenous growth theory and the economics of information.
Arrow remains active on the international scene through a variety of initiatives including trustee of Economists for Peace and Security and a member of the Advisory Board of Incentives for Global Health, the not-for-profit behind the Health Impact Fund.
Arrow was born on August 23, 1921, in New York City. Arrow's mother, Lilian, was from Iaşi (Romania), and his father, Harry, was from Podu Iloaiei (Iaşi, Romania). The Arrow family has Romanian Jewish origins. His family was very supportive of his education. Growing up during the Great Depression, he embraced socialism in his youth. He would later move away from socialism, but his views retained a left philosophy.
He graduated from Townsend Harris High School and then earned a Bachelor's degree from the City College of New York in 1940 in mathematics, where he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. He attended Columbia University, for his graduate studies. While there, he studied under Harold Hotelling, and was greatly influenced by him. He received a Master's degree in 1941. He served as a weather officer in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942–1946.