Heinz Wolfgang Arndt (26 February 1915 – 6 May 2002) was a German-born Australian economist.
Biography
Heinz Wolfgang Arndt was born in
Breslau,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, in 1915, the eldest son of
Fritz Georg Arndt (1885–1969) and Julia (née Heimann). Arndt gained two degrees at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and taught at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
and
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
before settling in Australia in 1946. While studying in England, he married his wife Ruth (nee Strohsahl) with whom he later lived in Canberra until her death in 2001. In 1950, Arndt took up a chairmanship in economics at the then
Canberra University College
Canberra University College was a tertiary education institution established in Canberra by the Australian government and the University of Melbourne in 1930. At first it operated in the Telopea Park School premises after hours. Most of the initi ...
. He became head of the department at the
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
The Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs is a constituent of the College of Asia and the Pacific, but was formerly part of the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, ANU, which was founded in 1946 as part of the Institute of Advanced ...
(RSPAS) at the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
(ANU) in 1963. He held this position until retiring in 1980. One of his main activities as head of the department was his establishment and management of the
Indonesia Project
The Indonesia Project is a center of research and graduate training on the Indonesian economy at the Australian National University (ANU). It is located in the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics, Crawford School of Public Policy, part of the AN ...
which sponsors research on the
Indonesian economy
The economy of Indonesia is the largest in Southeast Asia and is one of the emerging market economies. As a middle-income country and member of the G20, Indonesia is classified as a newly industrialized country. It is the 17th largest economy ...
. As part of his activities with the Indonesia Project he established the academic journal ''
Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies
The ''Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies'' (BIES) is a peer-reviewed academic journal produced at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. It publishes articles and notes about the Indonesian economy. The BIES has been published ...
'' (BIES).
Arndt died in a
car crash in Canberra in May 2002. He was on his way to attend the funeral of his close friend Sir
Leslie Melville
Sir Leslie Galfreid Melville (26 March 190230 April 2002) was a renowned Australian economist, academic and public servant. He helped form Australia's central banking system and gave his voice in international economic forums in the years fo ...
, at which he was to deliver a eulogy.
Arndt was President of the
Economic Society of Australia and New Zealand, and President of Section G (Economics) of
ANZAAS
The Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) is an organisation that was founded in 1888 as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to promote science.
It was modelled on the British A ...
. He wrote or co-wrote seven books, edited two collections of articles by various authors on the
Australian economy
Australia is a highly developed country with a mixed-market economy. As of 2022, Australia was the 14th-largest national economy by nominal GDP (Gross Domestic Product), the 20th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP, and was the 22nd-largest goods ...
, published six collections of his own essays, and produced more than a hundred articles, reports, book reviews and published lectures. He also acted as an adviser on various occasions to international inquiries and committees. In 1979 he was appointed as chair of group of experts to prepare a study for the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
on factors restraining global economic growth at the beginning of the 1980s.
Arndt also edited the magazine ''
Quadrant''.
Arndt had three children, Christopher, Nicholas and
Bettina Arndt
Bettina Mary Arndt (born 1 August 1949) is an Australian writer and commentator who specialises in sex and gender issues. Starting as a sex therapist and self-proclaimed feminist, she established her career in the 1970s publishing and broadcas ...
.
In October 2008, Arndt Street in the suburb of
Forde in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
was named jointly after Ruth and Heinz Arndt in recognition of their work in the Canberra community and of Heinz Arndt's contribution to Australian study of economic developments in Asia.
[Australian Capital Territory Government]
Street and suburban names
accessed 20 February 2017.
Bibliography
*
* ''The Australian Trading Banks'' (1957) Melbourne: Cheshire
* ''The Australian Economy: A Volume of Readings'' (ed. with
W.M. Corden) (1963) Melbourne: Cheshire
* ''Taxation in Australia: Agenda for Reform'' (with R.I. Downing and others) (1964) Melbourne: Melbourne University Press
* ''Some Factors in Economic Growth in Europe during the 1950s'' (official publication; co-author) (1964) Geneva: United Nations
* ''A Small Rich Industrial Country: Studies in Australian Development, Trade and Aid'' (1968) Melbourne: Cheshire
* ''Three times 18: an essay in political biography'' Quadrant, May–June 1969
* ''The Australian Economy: a Second Volume of Readings'' (ed. with A.H. Boxer) (1972) Melbourne: Cheshire
* ''Australia. OECD Economic Survey'' (official publication; co-author) (1973) Paris: OECD
* ''The Rise and Fall of Economic Growth. A Study in Contemporary Thought'' (1978) Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.
* ''The World Economic Crisis. A Commonwealth Perspective'' (co-author with A.K. Cairncross and others) (1980) London: Commonwealth Secretariat
* ''The Indonesian Economy – Collected Papers'' (1984) Singapore: Chopman Publications
* ''A Course Through Life: Memoirs of an Australian Economist'' (1985) Canberra: ANU
* ''Asian Diaries'' (1987) Singapore: Chopman Publications
* ''Economic Development: The History of an Idea'' (1987) Chicago: Chicago University Press
* ''Fifty Years of Development Studies'' (1993) Canberra: ANU
* ''Essays in International Economics, 1944–1994'' (1996) London: Avery
*
* ''Southeast Asia's Economic Crisis'' (co-author with Hal Hill) (1999) St. Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin
* ''Essays in Biography: Australian Economists'' Supplement to History of Economics Review, No. 32, Summer 2000.
* ''The Importance of Money. Essays in Domestic Macroeconomics 1949–1999'' (2001) Abingdon: Ashgate.
References
Further reading
* ''Arndt's Story: The life of an Australian economist''.
Peter Coleman
William Peter Coleman (15 December 1928 – 31 March 2019) was an Australian writer and politician. A widely published journalist for over 60 years, he was editor of '' The Bulletin'' (1964–1967) and of '' Quadrant'' for 20 years, and publi ...
, Selwyn Cornish, Peter Drake,
Bettina Arndt
Bettina Mary Arndt (born 1 August 1949) is an Australian writer and commentator who specialises in sex and gender issues. Starting as a sex therapist and self-proclaimed feminist, she established her career in the 1970s publishing and broadcas ...
(2007) Asia Pacific Press. .
* 'Heinz W. Arndt: economist and public intellectual'.
Helen Hughes, ''Economic Record'', 2002, 78 (243): 479–489.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arndt, Heinz Wolfgang
1915 births
2002 deaths
20th-century German economists
Academics of the London School of Economics
Road incident deaths in the Australian Capital Territory
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford
20th-century Australian economists
Australian National University faculty
German emigrants to Australia
People from the Province of Silesia
Writers from Wrocław
Quadrant (magazine) people