Douglass North
Douglass North
Douglass Cecil Northwas an American economist known for his work in economic history. He was the co-recipientof the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. In the words of the Nobel Committee, North and Fogel "renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods in order to explain economic and institutional change."...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEconomist
Date of Birth5 November 1920
CountryUnited States of America
becoming changed convinced engaging liberal life marxist student variety
While I was there my life was completely changed by becoming a convinced Marxist and engaging in a variety of student liberal activities.
school secondary
I went to elementary school in Ottawa, and then to a private secondary school.
communist everybody found indeed invaded june lone opposed peace shifted since suddenly supporter supporters union war
I was opposed to World War II, and indeed on June 22, 1941 when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union I suddenly found myself the lone supporter of peace since everybody else had, because of their communist beliefs, shifted over to become supporters of the war.
change framework led occupied performance
The development of a political-economic framework to explore long-run institutional change occupied me during all of the 1980s and led to the publication of Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance in 1990.
conducive environment last michigan northern summers work
My wife and I now live in the summers in northern Michigan in an environment which is wonderfully conducive to research, and where most of my work in the last 15 years has been done.
boy completed high insurance life office school sure
My father had not even completed high school when he started as an office boy working for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and I am not sure that my mother completed high school.
accepted came company harvard head insurance life moved offered office position san time west
When it came time to go to college, I had been accepted for Harvard when my father was offered the position of head of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company office on the west coast, and we moved to San Francisco.
left life scholarly totally
I would be remiss if I left the impression that my life has been totally preoccupied with scholarly research.
hunting fishing two
I continue to be a photographer; I have enjoyed fishing and hunting with a close friend; and have owned two ranches, first in northern California and then in the state of Washington.
editors wife married
In 1972 I married again, to Elisabeth Case; she continues to be wife, companion, critic and editor: a partner in the projects and programs that we undertake.
sister brother war
My brother and sister are both older than I am and were born before my father went off to World War I.
opportunity men rights
The supremacy of Parliament and the embedding of property rights in Common Law put political power in the hands of men anxious to exploit the new economic opportunities and provided the framework for a judicial system to protect and encourage productive economic activity
photography school winning
While I was there I became deeply interested in photography, and indeed the most noteworthy event in my early life was winning first, third, fourth and seventh prizes in an international competition for college and high school students.
jobs playing-chess firsts
It was not until I got my first job, at the University of Washington in Seattle, and began playing chess with Don Gordon, a brilliant young theorist, that I learned economic theory.