Arthur Joseph Brown, , (8 August 1914 – 28 February 2003) was an English economist who was Professor of Economics at the University of Leeds.

Early life and education

Though born in Alderley in Cheshire on 8 August 1914, Brown was raised in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

where he attended

Bradford Grammar School Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is a co-educational independent day school located in Frizinghall, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Entrance is by examination, except for the sixth form, where admission is based on GCSE results. The school ...

. He studied PPE at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, graduating with first-class honours in 1936. Tony Thirlwall
"Arthur Brown obituary"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 12 March 2003. Retrieved 12 April 2021.

Academic career

In 1937 Brown was elected a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford (beating Harold Wilson in the competition for the place)John Bowers
"Professor Arthur Brown"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 6 March 2003. Retrieved 12 April 2021. and was also appointed a lecturer at

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...

. He established a reputation as an economist and embraced

Keynesianism Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output ...

. He remained at All Souls until 1946, but left his lectureship in 1940 when (during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

) he joined the Foreign Research and Press Service, transferring in 1943 to the Foreign Office Research Department and then finally (in 1945) to the Economic Section of the Cabinet Office. During this period, he wrote articles on

applied economics Applied economics is the study as regards the application of economic theory and econometrics in specific settings. As one of the two sets of fields of economics (the other set being the ''core''), it is typically characterized by the application ...

for the '' Bulletin of International News''. Brown left government service in 1947 to become

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of Economics at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, where he remained until his retirement in 1979. During that period, he served as head of the university's Department of Economics and Commerce until 1965 and as pro-vice-chancellor from 1975 to 1977. He was made an emeritus professor on his retirement. Brown wrote ''Applied Economics: Aspects of the World Economy in War and Peace'' (1948), ''The Great Inflation, 1939–1951'' (1955), ''The Framework Of Regional Economics In The United Kingdom'' (1972) and ''World Inflation Since 1950: An International Comparative Study'' (with Jane Darby, 1985). He also advised African governments during decolonisation, represented the UK on the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

's Consultative Group on the Economic and Social Consequences of Disarmament and produced a study on

regional economics Regional economics is a sub-discipline of economics and is often regarded as one of the fields of the social sciences. It addresses the economic aspect of the regional problems that are spatially analyzable so that theoretical or policy implication ...

for the UK government for which he calculated the multiplier used to officially estimate the impact of government spending on a region's income.

Honours

Brown was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 1972, appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 1974 and served as president of the

Royal Economic Society The Royal Economic Society (RES) is a professional association that promotes the study of economic science in academia, government service, banking, industry, and public affairs. Originally established in 1890 as the British Economic Association, ...

from 1976 to 1978. He received honorary degrees from the Universities of Bradford,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

and was made an honorary fellow of

in 1985."Brown, Prof. Arthur Joseph"
''Who Was Who'' (online ed.,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2007). Retrieved 12 April 2021.

Death

Brown died on 28 February 2003, aged 88.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Arthur 1914 births 2003 deaths English economists People educated at Bradford Grammar School Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Academics of the University of Leeds Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the British Academy