Robert M. Solow

Robert M. Solow, more popularly known as Bob Solow is one of the stalwarts in the field of economy. He has received the Nobel Prize in economics in 1987 for his contribution towards the discipline. Robert Solow is well known for his theory of Economic Growth. He also received the John Bates Clark Medal in 1961.The well known economist’s contribution to economics has not only enriched the discipline but also has a lot of relevance today in term of application. [br]

Robert M. Solow, more popularly known as Bob Solow is one of the stalwarts in the field of economy. He has received the Nobel Prize in economics in 1987 for his contribution towards the discipline. Robert Solow is well known for his theory of Economic Growth. He also received the John Bates Clark Medal in 1961.The well known economist’s contribution to economics has not only enriched the discipline but also has a lot of relevance today in term of application. [br]

Life and Career

Robert M. Solow took birth in Brooklyn, which is in New York into a Jewish family on 23 August 1924. He is the eldest among three children. He was a brilliant student and fared well in his studies. In 1940, Solow received a scholarship to pursue his studies in the Harvard University. There his studies began with sociology, anthropology and elementary economics. During this time unfortunately Solow had to join the U.S. army and fight battles for them. He had also served the army of North Africa and Sicily and later the Italian army at the out breaks of World War II. He was discharged from his duties in 1945.

Solow resumed his studies in the same year and studied under the supervision of Wassily Leontief. He was a research associate with Leontief and produced the first series of papers on the input-output model. Gradually he developed interest in statistics and probability models. Solow completed his graduation in 1947, followed by Masters in 1949 finally culminating his educational journey by submitting the thesis on the alterations in the model by changes in the distribution of wage income applying the Markov process for wage rate and both employment and unemployment. He obtained his doctorate degree in 1951 from Harvard University.

Solow started off with his teaching career form the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Initially he was an assistant professor but eventually was absorbed in actual professorship in 1949. He taught econometrics and statistics at M.I.T. but his real interest was in macroeconomics and hence started analysis various growth theory along with Paul Samuelson. He continued the research work for 40 years and worked on several theories out of which Von Neumann Growth Theory, Capital Theory, Linear Programming, and Phillips Curve are worth mentioning.

Besides these research works Solow held important government positions in his life. He was the senior economist in the Council of Economic Advisers from 1961-62. He has also been a member of the President’s Commission on Income Maintenance. His rigorous and untiring dedication towards work has fetched him recognition in the form of awards. Apart from the Nobel Prize and Clark’s Medal he received the National Medal of Science in 1999. He happens to be a trustee of the Economists for Peace and Security organization.

Contribution to Economics

Solow had worked on the growth theories through out his life. In 1950 he developed a mathematical model depicting the positive effects of various factors that help to maintain the steady progress in the national economy. He proved that technological growth contributes a great deal in the growth of national economy in comparison capital accumulation and the increase in labor force. [br]

Technical Change and the Aggregate Production Function is one the articles by Solow, which was published in 1957 and took the economic world by rage. In this article he placed his view that an increase in capital and labor do not account for half of the economic growth. He ascribed this growth to technological development. He believed that the technological innovation contributes more towards the progress of the national economy than what the collective factors of capital increment and the rise in labor force cannot. This finding aided the government utilizing its funds into technological research and boost economic growth.

Apart from being a writer and researcher himself he is also a critic of various theories propounded by different economists.

Major Publications Regarding Solow
The books related to the works of Solow are:

Economics: Mainstream Readings and Radical Critiques
Readings in Macroeconomics
Readings in Money, National Income, and Stabilization Policy
Full Employment Regained?: An Agathotopian Dream

Books by Robert M. Solow

• Growth Theory: An Exposition
• Monopolistic Competition and Macroeconomic Theory (Federico Caffè Lectures)
• The Rate of Return and the Rate of Interest
• Price Expectations and the Behaviour of the Price Level
• The Story of a Social Experience and Some Reflections (Geary Lectures)
• Introduction: the Tobin approach to monetary economics.(Jim Tobin): An article from: Journal of Money, Credit & Banking
• Growth Theory: An Exposition Structural Reform and Economic Policy (International Economic Association)
• Capital theory and the rate of return (Professor Dr. F. De Vries lectures)
• The Labor Market As a Social Institution (The Royer Lectures)

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