“By 1935 economics entered into a mathematical epoch. It became easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a non-mathematical genius to enter into the pantheon of original theorist.” Paul Samuelson (1976: 25)
Alvin Hansen
This sharp quote taken from Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences laureate Paul Samuelson’s eulogy to an influential and notable Harvard economist, government adviser and public intellectual Alvin Hansen. Hansen is best known (but not enough nowadays) for successfully introducing and spreading Keynesian economics in the United States from the 1930s onwards, and for spelling out the implications of the Keynes macroeconomic model for fiscal policy. See more about his life and scientific contribution, in the light of the history of economic thought during the 20th century, in this short instructive article (open access), wich ends with these words: “To [Hansen economics] was the fascinating study of how to improve the lot of humanity.”
Samuelson, Paul. 1976. “Alvin…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Jul 19, 2015 @ 16:08:39
Someone should have asked Samuelson to explain Coase’s influence on economic theory.
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Jul 19, 2015 @ 16:10:40
Good point.
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