Richard M. Goodwin
Encyclopedia
Richard M. Goodwin was an American
mathematician
and economist
. He was born in Indiana
.
Goodwin received his BA
and PhD
at Harvard, and he taught there from 1942 until 1950. He taught at the University of Cambridge
until 1979 and the University of Siena
until 1984.
Goodwin worked on the interaction between long run growth and business cycles. His article on "matrix multiplier" was one of the earliest uses of the Perron–Frobenius theorem
in economics, although his reasoning had an error that was diagnosed by Frank H. Hahn
. He returned to the Perron–Frobenius theorem with his book on The dynamics of a capitalist economy.
Goodwin adopted the Lotka–Volterra equations for the population dynamics
of a predator and prey species as a persistent model of economic growth, called the "Goodwin model" (or "Goodwin's Class-Struggle Model"). Goodwin described himself as "a lifelong but wayward Marxist", with good reason: In his model, employed workers have the role of predators, as their wage demands squeeze profits and hence investment, leading to an increase in unemployment. Another model, "Goodwin's Non-Linear Accelerator", is also a model of endogenous cycles in economic activity; the cycles do not rely on outside shocks or structurally unstable parameters.
For more details on Richard Goodwin's professional contributions see:
1) Nonlinear and Mutisectoral Macrodynamics: Essays in Honour of Richard Goodwin. (ed. K. Velupillai), Macmillan, London, 1989.
2) “The Vintage Economist”, The Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organisation, Vol.37, No.1, Sep., pp. 1-31, 1998.
3) “Richard Goodwin: 1913-1996”, The Economic Journal, Vol. 108, September, 1998, pp.1436-1449.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
. He was born in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
.
Goodwin received his BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at Harvard, and he taught there from 1942 until 1950. He taught at the University of Cambridge
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...
until 1979 and the University of Siena
University of Siena
The University of Siena in Siena, Tuscany is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called Studium Senese, the University of Siena was founded in 1240. The University has around 20,000 students, nearly half of Siena's total population of around 54,000...
until 1984.
Goodwin worked on the interaction between long run growth and business cycles. His article on "matrix multiplier" was one of the earliest uses of the Perron–Frobenius theorem
Perron–Frobenius theorem
In linear algebra, the Perron–Frobenius theorem, proved by and , asserts that a real square matrix with positive entries has a unique largest real eigenvalue and that the corresponding eigenvector has strictly positive components, and also asserts a similar statement for certain classes of...
in economics, although his reasoning had an error that was diagnosed by Frank H. Hahn
Frank Hahn
Frank Horace Hahn is a British economist whose work has focused on general equilibrium theory, monetary theory, Keynesian economics and monetarism...
. He returned to the Perron–Frobenius theorem with his book on The dynamics of a capitalist economy.
Goodwin adopted the Lotka–Volterra equations for the population dynamics
Population dynamics
Population dynamics is the branch of life sciences that studies short-term and long-term changes in the size and age composition of populations, and the biological and environmental processes influencing those changes...
of a predator and prey species as a persistent model of economic growth, called the "Goodwin model" (or "Goodwin's Class-Struggle Model"). Goodwin described himself as "a lifelong but wayward Marxist", with good reason: In his model, employed workers have the role of predators, as their wage demands squeeze profits and hence investment, leading to an increase in unemployment. Another model, "Goodwin's Non-Linear Accelerator", is also a model of endogenous cycles in economic activity; the cycles do not rely on outside shocks or structurally unstable parameters.
Major articles
- "Multiplier Effects of a Balanced Budget, Notes", 1946, EconometricaEconometricaEconometrica is a peer-reviewed academic journal of economics, publishing articles not only in econometrics but in many areas of economics. It is published by the Econometric Society and distributed by Wiley-Blackwell. Econometrica is one of the most highly ranked economics journals in the world...
- "Innovations and the Irregularity of Economics Cycles", 1946, Review of Economics and StatisticsReview of Economics and StatisticsThe Review of Economics and Statistics is a peer-reviewed scientific journal specializing in applied quantitative economics, now called econometrics. It was founded in 1917 and first published as The Review of Economic Statistics in 1919...
- "Dynamic Coupling with Especial Reference to Markets Having Production Lags", 1947, Econometrica.
- "The Businesss Cycle as a Self-Sustaining Oscillation", 1949, Econometrica
- "The Multiplier as a Matrix", 1949, Economic JournalEconomic journalThe Economic Journal is one of the leading scholarly journals of economics. It is published on behalf of the Royal Economic Society by Wiley-Blackwell....
- "A Nonlinear Theory of the Cycle", 1950, Review of Economic StudiesReview of Economic StudiesThe Review of Economic Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal in economics. It was established in 1933 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell. It is the eighth-ranked economics journal in overall impact according to the ranking of Kalaitzidakis et al...
- "Does the Matrix Multiplier Oscillate?", 1950, Economic Journal
- "The Nonlinear Accelerator and the Persistence of Business Cycles", 1951, Econometrica
- "The Optimal Growth Path for an Underdeveloped Economy", 1961, Economic Journal
- "A Growth Cycle", 1967, in Feinstein, editor, Socialism, Capitalism and Economic Growth
- "A Growth Cycle", 1972, in E.K. Hunt and J.G. Schwatz, editors, A Critique of Economic Theory
- "A Note on Wage, Profits and Fluctuating Growth Rate", 1983, Cambridge Journal of Economics
- "Disaggregating Models of Fluctuating Growth", 1984, in Goodwin et al., editors, Non-linear Models of Fluctuating Growth
- "Swinging Along the Turnpike with von Neumann and Sraffa", 1986, Cambridge Journal of Economics
- "The Dynamics of a Capitalist Economy: A multi-sectoral approach," with L.F. Punzo, 1987.
- "The Multiplier-Accelerator Discretely Revisited", 1988, in Ricci and Vellupilai, editors, Growth cycles and multisectoral economics, the Goodwin tradition.
- "Swinging Along the Autostrada: Cyclical fluctuations along the von Neumann Ray", 1989, in Dore et al., John von Neumann and Modern Economics.
- Essays in Nonlinear Economic Dynamics, 1989.
- Chaotic Economic Dynamics, 1990.
- "Schumpeter, Keynes and the Theory of Economic Evolution", 1991, Journal of Evolutionary Economics
- "Nonlinear Dynamics and Economic Evolution", 1991, in Niels Thygesen et al., editors, Business Cycles
For more details on Richard Goodwin's professional contributions see:
1) Nonlinear and Mutisectoral Macrodynamics: Essays in Honour of Richard Goodwin. (ed. K. Velupillai), Macmillan, London, 1989.
2) “The Vintage Economist”, The Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organisation, Vol.37, No.1, Sep., pp. 1-31, 1998.
3) “Richard Goodwin: 1913-1996”, The Economic Journal, Vol. 108, September, 1998, pp.1436-1449.