ECONOMIST

Douglass North

1920 - 2015

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Douglass Cecil North (November 5, 1920 – November 23, 2015) was an American economist known for his work in economic history. Along with Robert Fogel, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1993. In the words of the Nobel Committee, North and Fogel "renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods in order to explain economic and institutional change." North was an influential figure in New Institutional Economics, which emphasizes the impact of institutions on economic behaviors and outcomes. North argued, "Institutions provide the incentive structure of an economy; as that structure evolves, it shapes the direction of economic change towards growth, stagnation, or decline." Rational and wealth-maximizing individuals lack complete information and have difficulties monitoring and enforcing agreements. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Douglass North is the 61st most popular economist (down from 56th in 2019), the 1,053rd most popular biography from United States (down from 791st in 2019) and the 16th most popular American Economist.

Douglass North is most famous for his work on the theory of institutions and economic development. He argues that institutions are the key to understanding why some countries are rich and others are poor.

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Among ECONOMISTS

Among economists, Douglass North ranks 61 out of 414. Before him are Karl Polanyi, Jeffrey Sachs, Werner Sombart, Theodore Schultz, Frédéric Bastiat, and Reinhard Selten. After him are William Vickrey, Lionel Robbins, Wang Anshi, Bernard Mandeville, Franco Modigliani, and Lawrence Klein.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1920, Douglass North ranks 45. Before him are Peter D. Mitchell, C. R. Rao, Mario Beccaria, John Demjanjuk, Walter Matthau, and Prem Tinsulanonda. After him are Ben Ferencz, Baruj Benacerraf, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Robert Whittaker, Lawrence Klein, and Ravi Shankar. Among people deceased in 2015, Douglass North ranks 42. Before him are Maya Plisetskaya, Zito, Eduardo Galeano, Alcides Ghiggia, Wes Craven, and Benedict Anderson. After him are Fatema Mernissi, James Last, Colleen McCullough, René Girard, Günter Schabowski, and Yitzhak Navon.

Others Born in 1920

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Douglass North ranks 1,053 out of 20,380. Before him are Charlie Sheen (1965), Jesse Livermore (1877), Little Richard (1932), William T. G. Morton (1819), Arthur Kornberg (1918), and Haldan Keffer Hartline (1903). After him are René Auberjonois (1940), Chester Bennington (1976), Gertrude Ederle (1905), David Bohm (1992), Joe Morton (1947), and Sylvia Earle (1935).

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Among ECONOMISTS In United States

Among economists born in United States, Douglass North ranks 16. Before him are Michael Porter (1947), Walt Whitman Rostow (1916), Edmund Phelps (1933), Gary Becker (1930), Jeffrey Sachs (1954), and Theodore Schultz (1902). After him are Lawrence Klein (1920), Kenneth Arrow (1921), Thorstein Veblen (1857), James Tobin (1918), Robert Solow (1924), and Murray Rothbard (1926).

American born Economists

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