Ezra reports, from his commentator Nylund:
Is it just me or do famous economists seem to live a really long time?
Friedman (94)
Mises (92)
John Kenneth Galbraith (98)
Hayek (92)
Leontief (93)
…besides Keynes (or any of the really old school guys like
Ricardo and Say), its rare to find a major economist that didn't make
it well into their 80's.
Samuelson is in his 90s and Ken Arrow is 87. Buchanan, Tullock, Coase, and Vernon Smith are all still with us and I wonder if Gary Becker might prove immortal. Frank Ramsey is one obvious exception, as is Miguel Sidrauski. Fischer Black and Amos Tversky are two more recent exceptions. Here is a paper on 16 notable economists who died prematurely.
North is 88.
And Coase is no spring chicken.
If I remember right Doug won’t be 88 until November 5. Hayek, on the other hand, I beleive lived to 102 not 92.
I was having lunch the other day with Adam Smith when this subject came up…..
He wasn’t quite as influential, but Charles Tiebout of the Tiebout model (suggesting market solutions to the free rider problem) died suddenly at the age of 43: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Tiebout
Famous economists will be at least 40 in order to receive their PHDs, do some important work and get noticed. So the relevant number for comparison is not average American lifespan but instead the lifespan conditional on surviving to the age of 40.
In the book, Statistics As Principled Argument they analyze a similar study which showed that musical conductors have longer lifespan.
I would say from experience understanding the sunk cost fallacy reduces stress, which should add years to ones life.
Three of those economists won the Nobel, and one was nominated. Not only do those who win the Nobel live longer than average, they even live longer than Nobel nominees, by 1 or 2 years.
Mancur Olson died at 65.
It’s been great shooting the bull with the other guys. They convinced me to admit I was wrong about the road to serfdom.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/apr/06/internet-data-storage
They also assure me that the weather models are more reliable than the financial models.
Some runs are longer than others.
Mine is longer than Keynes.
(1894 – 1993)
It’s not just a matter starting with men who’ve lived to be 40, it’s men who’ve been healthy enough to start a distinguished career.
Charles Kindleberger lived into his 90s.
Other excellent economists who died way too young
Richard McKelvey (57)
Bruce Smith (47)
Sydney Siegel (45)
Other older guys not yet mentioned
Lloyd Shapley (85+)
Martin Shubik (83+)
Roy Radner (81+)
John Nash (80+)
Herbert Simon (84)
Leo Hurwicz (90)
Gerard Debreu (83)
Leon Walras (75) (that was old 100 years ago)
Francis Edgeworth (81)
Frank Ramsey died at 26. But then he was really a mathematician (his contributions to philosophy and economics were just bye-the-bye), and they notoriously peak early.
Don’t longevity and IQ correlate?
Philosophers live long lives, too.
Most people prominent enough for their obituary to have a headline on LATimes.com appear to be 80-plus, except for ex-rock stars and soldiers killed in Iraq.
Lionel McKenzie turned 90 this year. I’m surprised no one from U Rochester has pointed this out yet.
Its not like economists generally live extreme lifestyles.
Of course, Kondratiev died quite young–a victim of the Great Purge.
Carl Menger lived to be 80 (missed his 81st birthday by two days). W.H. Hutt was 88 when he died. Henry Hazlitt, 98. Frank Fetter was 86. Ludwig Lachman, 84.Fritz Machlup, 81. Gottfied Haberler, 94. Paul Rosensteing-Rodan, 83.Lionel Robbins, 83.GLS Shackle, 89. Philip Wicksteed, 83. Frank Knight was 86 or 87.
Whoops. That’d be for the first page. The second page gives 80 years. 77 Is the life expectancy from birth, 83 is the life expectancy at 65+, according to
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lifexpec.htm
Comments on this entry are closed.