Nicholas Kaldor

Life

• Born: May 12, 1908, in Budapest, Hungary
• Education:
• Studied at the London School of Economics (LSE) (1927-1930)
• Influenced by Friedrich Hayek and Lionel Robbins
• Career Highlights:
• Professor at LSE (1932-1947)
• Fellow of King's College, Cambridge (1949-1986)
• Economic advisor to UK Labour governments (1964-1970, 1974-1976)
• Key architect of UK Selective Employment Tax (1966)
• Death: September 30, 1986, in Cambridge, England

People Who Influenced Their Thought

• John Maynard Keynes: Post-Keynesian economics
• Michał Kalecki: Profit and investment theories
• Gunnar Myrdal: Cumulative causation
• Alfred Marshall: Partial equilibrium analysis

Main Ideas and Publications

• Keynesian Economics Contributions:
• Developed endogenous money theory
• Formulated Kaldor's growth laws
• A Model of Economic Growth (1957):
• Technical progress function
• Verdoorn's Law formalization
• The Scourge of Monetarism (1982):
• Critique of Thatcherite economic policies
• Conceptual Innovations:
• "Circular and cumulative causation"
• "Speculative demand" in foreign exchange markets

Controversies

• Monetarism Debates: Public clashes with Milton Friedman
• Tax Proposals: Criticized for complexity and distortionary effects
• Growth Theories: Challenged by neoclassical economists
• Policy Influence: Mixed results of his UK policy recommendations

Key People Influenced

• Hyman Minsky: Financial instability hypothesis
• Wynne Godley: Stock-flow consistent modeling
• Joseph Stiglitz: Information economics
• Diane Elson: Feminist economics

Legacy

Kaldor revolutionized post-Keynesian economics with his theories of growth, distribution, and cumulative causation. His policy work and theoretical contributions made him one of the most influential heterodox economists of the 20th century, bridging academic and policy economics. His ideas continue to shape debates about economic development and monetary policy.