Jan Tinbergen (1903-1994) and the Rise of Economic Expertise

US publication September 2021

350 pages 9781108495998 Hardback

$39.99 USD / $45.95 CAD

At a glance

• The first full biography of Jan Tinbergen, one of the most influential economists of the 20th century • Provides a unique personal perspective at the development of economic expertise at the national and international level

Jan Tinbergen (1903-1994) and the Rise of Economic Expertise

Erwin Dekker

Jan Tinbergen was the first Nobel Prize winner in Economics and one of the most influential economists of the 20th century. This book argues that his crucial contribution is the theory of economic policy and the legitimation of economic expertise in service of the state. It traces his youthful socialist ideals which found political direction in the Plan-socialist movement of the 1930s for which he developed new economic models to combat the Great Depression. After World War II he was able to synthesize that work into a theory of economic policy which not only provided a lasting framework for economic policy around the world, but also secured a permanent place for economic experts close to government. The book then turns to an examination of his attempt to repeat this achievement in the development projects in the Global South and at the international level for the United Nations.

Erwin Dekker is Assistant Professor of Cultural Economics at Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. He is the author of The Viennese students of Civilization (Cambridge, 2016), which won the award for Best Book in Austrian Economics.

Advance praise

‘To anyone who thinks of Tinbergen as just an econometrician who engaged in building macro-econometric models, this book will be a revelation; it shows Tinbergen as an idealist, committed to building a better society, and not just an economic expert. I strongly recommend it.’ Roger Backhouse, University of Birmingham