was a
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
.
Biography
Uzawa was born on July 21, 1928 in
Yonago, Tottori
is a city in western Tottori Prefecture, Japan, facing the Sea of Japan and making up part of the boundary of Lake Nakaumi. It is adjacent to Shimane Prefecture and across the lake from its capital of Matsue. It is the prefecture's second larges ...
to a farming family.
He attended the Tokyo First Middle School (currently the
Hibiya High School
is a Japanese high school founded in 1878 as the . It was well known in the 1950s and 1960s for the large proportion of graduates who gained admission to the prestigious University of Tokyo; though it suffered a decline in the 1970s, as of 2005 ...
) and the
First Higher School
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
, Japan (now the University of Tokyo's College of Arts and Sciences faculty).
He graduated from the Mathematics Department of the
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...
in 1951; he was a special research student from 1951 to 1953. At that time, he discovered the true nature of economics in the words of
John Ruskin
John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
, “There is no wealth, but life.” which was quoted in the foreword to by
Hajime Kawakami
was a Japanese Marxist economist of the Taishō and early Shōwa periods.
Biography
Born in Yamaguchi, he graduated from Tokyo Imperial University. After writing for ''Yomiuri Shimbun'', he attained a professorship in economics at Kyoto Impe ...
, and decided to study economics.
A paper on
decentralized economic planning written by him caught the eye of
Kenneth Arrow
Kenneth Joseph Arrow (23 August 1921 – 21 February 2017) was an American economist, mathematician, writer, and political theorist. He was the joint winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with John Hicks in 1972.
In economics ...
at the
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, he went to study Economics at Stanford University in 1956 with
Fulbright fellowship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
, and became a
research assistant
A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, a research institute or a privately held organization, for the purpose of assisting in academic or private research. Research assistants are not in ...
, then
assistant professor
Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada.
Overview
This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...
in 1956, then
assistant professor
Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada.
Overview
This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...
at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in 1960, and then
associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
Overview
In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...
at Stanford in 1961.
Meanwhile, in 1962, he received a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
from
Tohoku University
, or is a Japanese national university located in Sendai, Miyagi in the Tōhoku Region, Japan. It is informally referred to as . Established in 1907, it was the third Imperial University in Japan and among the first three Designated National ...
. He afterwards was
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1964, and later assumed the position of professor of the Department of Economics at the University of Tokyo in 1969. He also taught at
Niigata University
is a national university in Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 1949 and has its major origins in Niigata Medical College (established in 1922) and in Niigata Higher School (established in 1919). It is one of the largest Jap ...
,
Chuo University
, commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...
, and
United Nations University
The (UNU) is the think tank and academic arm of the United Nations. Headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, with diplomatic status as a UN institution, its mission is to help resolve global issues related to human development and welfare thro ...
.
Joseph E. Stiglitz
Joseph Eugene Stiglitz (; born February 9, 1943) is an American New Keynesian economist, a public policy analyst, and a full professor at Columbia University. He is a recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the Joh ...
and
George A. Akerlof
George Arthur Akerlof (born June 17, 1940) is an American economist and a university professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and Koshland Professor of Economics Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. ...
did research under Uzawa at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
and David Cass studied under Uzawa at Stanford University.
Uzawa was a
senior fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
at the social, commonness, and capital research center of
Doshisha University
, mottoeng = Truth shall make you free
, tagline =
, established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920
, vision =
, type = Private
, affiliation =
, calendar =
, endowment = €1 ...
. He held the position of the president of the
Econometric Society
The Econometric Society is an international society of academic economists interested in applying statistical tools to their field. It is an independent organization with no connections to societies of professional mathematicians or statisticians. ...
from 1976 to 1977. He also held the position of Counsel for the
Development Bank of Japan
is a Japanese development bank incorporated on 1 October 2008 under the Development Bank of Japan Inc. Law (Law No. 85 of 2007). Current ownership structure of DBJ is solely owned by the Government of Japan through the Minister of Finance
A ...
's Research Institute of Capital Formation (RICF) from 1968 until his passing.
Contributions
Uzawa initiated the field of
mathematical economics
Mathematical economics is the application of mathematical methods to represent theories and analyze problems in economics. Often, these applied methods are beyond simple geometry, and may include differential and integral calculus, difference an ...
in postwar days and formulated the
growth theory
Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of ...
of
neoclassical economics
Neoclassical economics is an approach to economics in which the production, consumption and valuation (pricing) of goods and services are observed as driven by the supply and demand model. According to this line of thought, the value of a good ...
. This is reflected in the
Uzawa–Lucas model The Uzawa–Lucas model is an economic model that explains long-term economic growth as consequence of human capital accumulation. Developed by Robert Lucas, Jr., building upon initial contributions by Hirofumi Uzawa, it extends the AK model by a ...
, the
Uzawa iteration In numerical mathematics, the Uzawa iteration is an algorithm for solving saddle point problems. It is named after Hirofumi Uzawa and was originally introduced in the context of concave programming.
Basic idea
We consider a saddle point problem ...
, the
Uzawa condition
In macroeconomics, the Inada conditions, named after Japanese economist Ken-Ichi Inada, are assumptions about the shape of a function, usually applied to a production function or a utility function. When the production function of a neoclassica ...
, and
Uzawa's Theorem, among others.
In his 1962 paper,
Uzawa proved that the two of
Walrasian equilibrium
Competitive equilibrium (also called: Walrasian equilibrium) is a concept of economic equilibrium introduced by Kenneth Arrow and Gérard Debreu in 1951 appropriate for the analysis of commodity markets with flexible prices and many traders, and se ...
and
Brouwer's fixed-point theorem
Brouwer's fixed-point theorem is a fixed-point theorem in topology, named after L. E. J. (Bertus) Brouwer. It states that for any continuous function f mapping a compact convex set to itself there is a point x_0 such that f(x_0)=x_0. The simples ...
are equivalent.
Recognition
*1983 -
Person of Cultural Merit
is an official Japanese recognition and honor which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...
*1989 - Member of
Japan Academy
The Japan Academy (Japanese: 日本学士院, ''Nihon Gakushiin'') is an honorary organisation and science academy founded in 1879 to bring together leading Japanese scholars with distinguished records of scientific achievements. The Academy is c ...
*1995 -
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
Visiting Fellow
*1997 -
Order of Culture
The is a Japanese order, established on February 11, 1937. The order has one class only, and may be awarded to men and women for contributions to Japan's art, literature, science, technology, or anything related to culture in general; recipien ...
*2009 -
Blue Planet Prize
The recognises outstanding efforts in scientific research or applications of science that contribute to solving global environmental problems. The prize was created by the Asahi Glass Foundation in 1992, the year of the Rio Earth Summit, and ...
*
Econometric Society
The Econometric Society is an international society of academic economists interested in applying statistical tools to their field. It is an independent organization with no connections to societies of professional mathematicians or statisticians. ...
Fellow (Lifetime)
Bibliography
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Working Papers
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Koopmans, Tjalling C.; Uzawa, Hirofumi (1982). "Constancy and Constant Differences of Price Elasticities of Demand,"
Cowles Foundation
The Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics is an economic research institute at Yale University. It was created as the Cowles Commission for Research in Economics at Colorado Springs in 1932 by businessman and economist Alfred Cowles. In 1939 ...
Discussion Papers 654, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics,
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
.
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzawa, Hirofumi
1928 births
2014 deaths
People from Yonago, Tottori
Japanese economists
20th-century American economists
21st-century American economists
Growth economists
Stanford University Department of Economics faculty
University of California, Berkeley faculty
University of Chicago faculty
University of Tokyo faculty
Niigata University faculty
Chuo University faculty
Doshisha University faculty
United Nations University faculty
University of Tokyo alumni
Tohoku University alumni
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Members of the Japan Academy
Presidents of the Econometric Society
Fellows of the Econometric Society
Presidents of the Japanese Economic Association
Persons of Cultural Merit
Recipients of the Order of Culture