Samuelson biography

Economics: Per. In the city, this event surprised the professor and pleased students. P. Samuelson himself noted that “in those days it was not assumed that the scientist who gives hopes would write textbooks, especially for beginners. Only professional graphomaniacs were engaged in this. ”Today, the light of the“ economy ”was seen, which P. Samuelson and its co -author, starting with the publication of William Nordhouse, celebrated the summer, the golden anniversary of the most common textbook of the economy, translated into 20 languages, the anniversary edition of which is now in Russian [I].

Per aspera: the path to the golden anniversary. At this point, P. Samuelson made a brilliant career. The student of F. Knight, J. Winner, G. Simons, P. immediately, upon receipt of the master’s degree in the city, the dissertation of Samuelson formed the basis of his first fundamental work “Fundamentals of Economic Analysis” [II], for which he acquired the world's “Eternally” - the textbook “Economics” in the city of Clark of the American Economic Association.

Germany and Japan suffered a crushing defeat, American universities were simply crowded with students who returned from the fronts of World War II ... The new generation of students needed to explain the events. But at that time, as the teachers of my generation recall, the most popular economics textbooks were already outdated. Therefore, it was not surprising that novice students were bored.

Often I noticed my students an absent look. In the year, when this book was first published, the term “macroeconomics”, denoting the science of unemployment and prices, as well as the rate of inflation and growth of the real gross national product, was not even in the dictionary! But even if I had not considered the problem of production capabilities with a well-known example of a gun-butter in an introductory course in microeconomics, someone else would have done this.

The time of revolutionary changes in the introductory course in the economy has already come. ”S. The changes have been rushed, decisive actions were required. At the end of each chapter, she was immediately propagated on a mymeographer and given for verification to the students of the MTI [IV]. I considered this work rather painstaking, but pleasant. At first, I naively believed that I could finish this work in a year, in fact it took a long three years of hard work.

I had to throw tennis classes, since the whole weekend and summer vacation were completely devoted to the translation of the most difficult economic terms into a language that is understandable to everyone who is just starting to get acquainted with these problems. It turned out that we must seriously work on traditional economic schedules. We literally “decorated the graphs with color” so that the “dull science of the economy” becomes the exciting object, which it really is ”S.

The book was expected by a great success, it was adopted in large and small colleges and the USA and Europe. Additional circulations were constantly published. Samuelson, I went through large bookstores in all major cities in order to make sure that my book was translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish ”S. Gelbrait Galbraith, which predicted that the next generation would study the economy according to the Samuelson textbook.

Samuelson, - turned out to be much more perspicacious than I am, and this book really became a new and durable example to follow. Many competing books were mainly written in the same style ”S. However, obstacles appeared on the way of“ Economics ”. Samuelson, my book also received her share of condemnation. The second slap in the face of P. Samuelson, M. Linder and D., who came out at the end of the X Anti-Samuelson, was considered at the end of the x, even with P.'s engaged critics, it was the acute polemicism of the “Economics” that became the key to his longevity.

Fifty years of economics or fifty years of "Economics". Now, releasing the sixteenth edition, I am not sure of that. It seems that we are all alive ”C. Today it is reasonably to say that the“ economy ”by P. Samuelson and V. Nordhouse, she lived in a completely different world. She struggled with economic cycles gaining power, trying to somehow explain the causes of depression, hyperinflation and exchange collapse, polemicizing about the advantages of socialism and capitalism.

At the end of the century, the economic world and the world of economic science developed an unprecedented pace. Over the past five decades, the total production volume in the United States has increased four times, real per capita income has doubled over the same period. Outside the United States, the changes were even more striking. Many countries abandoned the socialist experiment and moved to the market system; Such completely different countries as Ireland, Botswana and the Philippines survived powerful economic growth.

What is the history of the XX century economy taught us? Repeating downs, bursts of inflation are a kind of economic version of chemical experiments conducted in laboratories.The tragic experience of the Russian and Chinese systems for organizing production and distribution carried out by the Communists deprived of the opportunity to use the fruits of the increasing standard of living of three generations of people.

At the same time, the absolutely free market economy was not able to provide all of humanity with regard to equal opportunities and income. The desire for a constant increase in the standard of living of their fellow citizens led to the fact that in almost all modern democratic countries a so -called mixed economy has formed, which has nothing to do with a free market mechanism, or with utopia Robin Hood.

Alas, only having learned the truly capital truths of the economy, people will be able to understand and decide where the golden mean between the egoism of personal initiative and regulatory, stabilizing and distributing functions of the state should take place. For fifty years, great changes have occurred in economic science. Modern statistical databases provided by state bodies, private firms and academic institutions contain more comprehensive information than the databases of the late x.

Data is now processed much faster, computers give us statistical information and generalizations at the speed of light. This is equally concerned with the economic theory and the applied economy ”S. Separately P. Samuelson also notes the virtues of the Internet:“ By clicking on the mouse several times, you can get the latest data on the level of unemployment, track all the information about the level of poverty and the levels of income or understand the labyrinths of the banking system ”, however, the authors of the“ Economics ”, the authors of the“ Economics ”are warned:“ Before you go to the delightful world Web, I would like to give you wise advice.

Be careful! Access to the Internet and other electronic sources of information is quite simple. However, this simplicity is deceiving. ”S., a balanced look at progress allows P. Samuelson confidently looking into the future. The economy enters the 21st century with the "economy". The same thing happened with this book. First, - P. recalls years, my blond hair darkened, and then turned gray.

Thin half a century of development of the "Economics", according to P. Samuelson, is the key to success in the future century, which has been in great responsibility on the authors. Nordhaus - to stop and reflect on the further development of economic theory and economics. In the process of preparing the book, we tried not to forget that the principles set forth in it should serve the reader faithfully in the next five decades.

What vital problems and insoluble dilemmas will arise before today's students when they deal with business or state affairs? Summarizing the historical experience of the development of both the economy, and economic theory, P. The main problems of X are very much different from the problems that have worried society in E and even in the years. As once, today we are disturbed by the problems of economic growth, stability and distribution of income.

Do we arrange the current rate of economic growth? Does the state control inflation and unemployment? Are the fruits of economic growth right among the population? The main among all these issues is the eternal question of how to use our resources to improve the lives of each individual and society as a whole ”S. not everyone is given the winner in the continuous Darwin struggle for the survival inherent in a market economy” S.

At the same time, completing the book, P. Nordhaus does not lose a sober view of things, nor optimism: “Nevertheless, the market deserves those kind words that are kind words that are kind words that are kind words that are kind words that are kind of kind words that are kind of kind words We have repeatedly been pronounced by us in this book. From the last praise to the market we will refrain.

We will hold it on the day when everyone has the opportunity to get a good job, have their own house and live in harmony with the outside world. These are quite worthy goals for the economy and for economists for the next 50 years! Samuelson withstood several publications in Russian: Economics: Introductory Course.