Martin Bronfenbrenner: An Economist in the American Occupation of Japan
By Michael Potts Martin Bronfenbrenner (1914-1997) was one of the last of a generation of generalist economists. His involvement in the U.S. Occupation of Japan changed his life and his career. This paper examines the mutually stabilizing relationship between his persona and his work in light of his experiences in Japan. Access to Bronfenbrenner’s previously […]
Martin Bronfenbrenner and Japan’s Post-WWII Economic Recovery
By Nitish Basandra This paper explores the economic recovery of post-World War II Japan through the eyes of the late Duke professor and American economist Martin Bronfenbrenner. Specifically, we address the period of US Occupation from 1947-1952, detailing how Bronfenbrenner sensitized America to Japanese economics. Along the way, Bronfenbrenner faced several obstacles as his loyalty […]
The Miscommunications and Misunderstandings of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen
By Samuel Iglesias If there is any takeaway from 1971’s The Entropy Law and the Economic Process, it’s this: beneath every intersection of the supply and demand curve, there’s a slow, but steady, process of environmental degradation. Try as you will to recycle waste materials, the book argues—this process cannot be reversed. A formulation of […]
The Miscommunications and Misunderstandings of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen
by Samuel Iglesias Abstract If there is any takeaway from 1971’s The Entropy Law and the Economic Process, it’s this: beneath every intersection of the supply and demand curve, there’s a slow, but steady, process of environmental degradation. Try as you will to recycle waste materials, the book argues—this process cannot be reversed. A formulation […]
Engaging with Malthus: Joseph J. Spengler and Economic Demography
by Thomas Aten Abstract This research paper analyzes the development of Joseph J. Spengler’s interpretation of Thomas Robert Malthus’s work through its three stages, first the stage of quantitative analysis, second, the analysis of early American and French thinkers using Malthus as a critical lens, and third, Spengler’s “Restatement and Reappraisal” of Malthusian theory. Professor […]
