The Gypsy Economist
The Life and Times of Colin Clark
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Springer Verlag, Singapore
Published:12th Mar '21
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£89.99(9789813369481)

This book offers the first intellectual biography of the Anglo Australian economist, Colin Clark. Despite taking the economics world by storm with a mercurial ability for statistical analysis, Clark’s work has been largely overlooked in the 30 years since his death. His career was punctuated by a number of firsts. He was the first economist to derive the concept of GNP, the first to broach development economics and to foresee the re-emergence of India and China within the global economy. In 1945, he predicted the rise and persistence of inflation when taxation levels exceeded 25 per cent of GNP. And he was also the first economist to debunk post-war predictions of mass hunger by arguing that rapid population growth engendered economic development. Clark wandered through the fields of applied economics in much the same way as he rambled through the English countryside and the Australian bush. His imaginative wanderings qualify him as the eminent gypsy economist for the 20thcentury.
“This biography is a most illuminating account of Clark and his work, the man and his times, and provides comprehensive assessment of his many economic contributions. The picture painted is of a most stimulating and heterodox thinker, a man who had no formal training in economics or economic methodology, and a man who revelled being annoying!” (Adrian Darnell, EH Net, eh.net, April, 2022)
“This book is a very interesting read and a significant resource for the historian interested in the history of economic thought, Australian economic history and Catholic politics. It offers insights into an academically gifted and productive contributor to Australian and global economics. It is well worth the read and would contribute … the quagmire of academic and bureaucratic politics in London and the Antipodes during the larger part of the twentieth century.” (David Gilchrist, Australian Historical Studies, April 4, 2022)
“The work draws upon a wide array of source material from public and private archives, extensive interviews and Clark’s personal papers. The quality of the writing is impressive and while Millmow is generally sympathetic to Clark, the book is not a hagiography. … The Gypsy Economist is an important contribution to the history of economic thought and to the history of ideas in the twentieth century. It is a pleasure to read and is highly recommended.” (Selwyn Cornish, History Australia, March 31, 2022)
ISBN: 9789813369450
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
396 pages
2021 ed.