ALLYN YOUNG: THE PERIPATETIC ECONOMIST

ALLYN YOUNG: THE PERIPATETIC ECONOMIST

STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF ECONOMICS General Editor: D. E. Moggridge, University oftoronto, Canada Editorial Board: N. de Marchi, Duke University and University of Amsterdam; D. Patinkin, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; B. Sandelin, University of Lund; Y. Shionoya, Hitotsubashi University; D. A. Walker, Indiana University; J. K. Whitaker, University of Virginia; D. Winch, University of Sussex Published in association with the History of Economics Society and with an international board of advisers, this series takes a broad definition of the history of economics. Titles cover the major topics in the fields of economic theory, methodology and professional evolution, and includes both monographs and edited collections of essays. Published titles include: Charles P. Blitch ALLYN YOUNG: The Peripatetic Economist W. D. Sockwell POPULARIZING CLASSICAL ECONOMICS: Henry Brougham and William Ellis

Allyn Young The Peripatetic Economist Charles P. Blitch Professor of Economics Emeritus Old Dominion University Norfolk Virginia

First published in Great Britain 1995 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-24333-4 ISBN 978-1-349-24331-0 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-24331-0 First published in the United States of America 1995 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth A venue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 978-0-312-12881-4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Blitch, Charles P. Allyn Young : the peripatetic economist I Charles P. Blitch. p. em.- (Studies in the history of economics) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-12881-4 (cloth) I. Young, Allyn Abbott, 1876--1929. Economists-United States -Biography. I. Title. II. Series. HBI19.Y68B54 1995 330'.092-dc20 [B] Charles P. Blitch 1995 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1995 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written pem1ission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence pem1itting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WI P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. 10 9 8 7 6 05 04 03 02 01 5 4 3 2 I 00 99 98 97 96 95-34285 CIP

This book is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Professor Milton Sidney Heath (1894-1970) teacher, scholar, and friend

Contents Preface IX Introduction The Early Years 3 2 The Peripatetic Economist 15 3 Cornell, Washington and New York 42 4 Paris and the Aftermath 70 5 The Harvard Years 113 6 The London School of Economics 164 Notes 188 Bibliography 209 Index 215

Preface The first time I ever heard of Allyn Young was in a graduate seminar in History of Economic Thought at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was conducted by the late Professor Milton S. Heath. Professor Heath had been a student in Young's classes at Harvard University in 1925-26 and 1926-27. It was very clear from his remarks that Professor Heath admired Allyn Young as a teacher, scholar, and gentleman. Since I had similar feelings about Professor Heath, I became interested in Young. A hasty bit of research in the library provided me with a brief sketch of his life and accomplishments. One day, during my last year at Chapel Hill, Professor Heath said to me that 'someone ought to do something on Allyn Young'. At the time I had a thesis topic and had already begun the research on it. There the matter rested until Professor Heath's death in late 1970. In 1972 I started to research in earnest the life and thought of Allyn Young with the intent of writing a full biography in honor of Professor Heath. It was a slow process as, despite many applications, neither funds nor released time were made available for the project. Eight years were spent in gathering material about Young on my own. Several articles were published by me from the material beginning in 1983, but it is only since my retirement from full-time teaching that I have had the time to write a full biography. This book could not have been written without the help and cooperation of archivists at Hiram College, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, Washington University (St Louis), Cornell University, Columbia University, Yale University, Harvard University, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin, Library of Congress, and the National Archives. I gratefully acknowledge their kindness. The London School of Economics, through the courtesy of the late Lord Robbins, made Young's staff file available to me. The late Grace Westlake Dorr provided me with details of Young's private life, and her son, Allyn A. Dorr, has kindly given me additional information about the Young family. I wish to thank Professor Anthony P. Thirlwall for his painstaking review of the manuscript and his suggestions for improving it. Permission to reprint material from Charles P. Blitch, 'Allyn A. Young: A Curious Case of Professional Negiect', History of Political Economy, vol. 15, copyright Duke of University Press, 1983; and from Charles P. Blitch, 'Allyn Young on Increasing Returns', Journal of Post Keynesian

Economics, vol. v, copyright M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 1983, was granted by the publishers. CHARLES P. BLITCH