Essay, Research Paper: Paul Samuelson Biography

Paul Anthony Samuelson, an American economist, was born in Gary, Indiana, in 1915. He was educated at the University of Chicago and Harvard University. In 1941 he joined the economics faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where in 1966 he was named institute professor, the highest professional rank at the institution. In those years he was also appointed to the rank of president of the American Economic Association in 1961. In 1947, he won the John Bates Clark award which is given to the most outstanding economist under the age of forty. Samuelson has at various times served as a columnist for Newsweek magazine, a consultant to such research organizations as the Rand Corporation and to the Federal Reserve Board, as well as an adviser to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. As a popular lecturer, Samuelson is also the author of a best-selling economics textbook. This textbook which was originally published in 1948, Economics: An Introductory Analysis has been translated into more than a dozen languages and has sold more than 4 million copies. In this work Samuelson clearly and carefully tells in mathematical and quantitative terms his middle-of-the-road economic philosophy. This philosophy was based largely on the theories of the British economist John Maynard Keynes. He uses mathematics to explain relationships among economic phenomena. For example, he has evolved formulas to relate gross national product to levels of employment and to analyze the balance between prices and supply and demand. For his contribution to economic theory, Samuelson was awarded in 1970 the Nobel Prize in economics. He was the first American to win the prize for economics.
Another of Samuelson's literary achievements was the book, "Foundations of Economic Analysis," which greatly increased the use of mathematics in economics. According to samuelson, almost all behavior could be understood as maximizing or minimizing subject to constraint. Though others touched upon this issue, he relegated his mathematical equations to appendices. According to David Henderson, "Samuelson was one of the last generalists to be incredibly productive in a number of fields in economics. He has contributed fundamental insights in consumer theory and welfare economics, international trade, finance theory, capital theory, dynamics and general equilibrium, and macroeconomics. Samuelson used mathematic tools and showed that the conditions under which differentials would be driven to zero. The theoem he proved is the Factor Price Equalization Theorem." He believed that too many of the problems the classical economists wanted to leave to the marketplace were external costs and not subject to the laws of supply and demand. He argues that it is up to government to establish goals for the economy and use its powers to solve problems related to issues such as public health, education, and pollution. He also endorsed the concept of government-sponsored programs such as public housing and food stamps to reduce poverty.
As Paul Samuelson was born in 1915 and is still alive today he lived during the modern era of economics. Although he was concerned with the global economy Samuelson concentrated on America whose economy as been relatively stable since the great depression. However there have been many fluctuations and alterations in the economy in the latter half of this century which have affected Samuelson's views. Although he was young during the great depression the impact it had on America affected Samuelson's views dramatically. The success of the Roosevelt's New Deal programs and the complete failure of laissez-faire, Republican strategies of the twenties taught Samuelson that a "hands-on"� government approach to the economy and many other things is needed. The revolutionary ideas introduced in the New Deal involved far more government involvement and regulation in the economy than ever before. This led Samuelson to believe that it is up to the government to establish goals for the economy and use its powers to solve problems. Samuelson also observed how well the government involvement in the economy worked during the second world war. During World War II in 1940's, around the time when Samuelson published his firsts book, the government was very successful in keeping the economy healthy despite the war by recruiting new workers and becoming more involved with the United States Economy than they were before. Although these times of turmoil in the economy affected Samuelson greatly he has also lived through quite stable periods as well, including the 1990's. In conclusion, the economic world in which Samuelson lived has not yet been defined. The period in which he lived is the present had has yet to have been labeled and reflected upon. It is certain that although he has lived much of his life in a stable economy the times of turmoil he experienced had a lasting affect that led him to believe the government cannot take the economy lightly and simply keeps its "hands-off."�