Ian Malcolm David Little, (18 December 1918 – 13 July 2012) was a British economist. The son of Brigadier-General

Malcolm Orme Little Brigadier-General Malcolm Orme Little, (29 November 1857 – 1 February 1931) was a cavalry officer in the British Army and champion polo player. He commanded a cavalry brigade in the Second Boer War and a yeomanry brigade in the First Wo ...

and his wife Iris Hermione, ''née'' Brassey, Ian Little was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, where he read PPE, graduating with a

First 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 rec ...

in 1947. During

World War II 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 opposin ...

, he served as a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

in the

Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment The Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment (AFEE) was a branch of the British Air Ministry, that researched and developed non-traditional airborne applications, such as gliders, rotary wing aircraft, and dropping of personnel and equipment b ...

and flew autogiros, and was awarded the Air Force Cross. After the War, he began a

DPhil 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 ...

Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer co ...

under the supervision of

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economic ...

, with whom he clashed. Hicks threatened to have Little's

studentship A studentship is a type of academic scholarship. United States In the US a ''studentship'' is similar to a scholarship but involves summer work on a research project. The amount paid to the recipient is normally tax-free, but the recipient is ...

rescinded, but Little was elected a prize fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

in 1948, where he completed his doctorate. Little's doctoral thesis was published by

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 ...

in 1950 as ''A Critique of Welfare Economics'' and proved to be influential, selling 70,000 copies. He was elected a fellow of

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

in 1950 and an official fellow of Nuffield College in 1952. Between 1953 and 1955 he was seconded to

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

as the Deputy Director of the Economic Section. He was Professor of Economics of Underdeveloped Countries at Oxford between 1971 and 1976. In the 1970s, Little criticized the then-dominant protectionist approach to developmental economics, and advocated for trade liberalization by developing countries, an approach which would later prove to be influential. Among his students was

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

who, as India's

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, adopted many of the policies advocated by Little. Little was elected to the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

in 1973 and appointed a

CBE 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 ...

in 1997. In 1946 Little married Doreen Hennessey and had a son and daughter. Doreen died in 1984 and in 1991 he married, secondly, Lydia Segrave. In 2015 Lydia Segrave married

Edward Baldwin, 4th Earl Baldwin of Bewdley Edward Alfred Alexander Baldwin, 4th Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 January 1938 – 16 June 2021) was a British educator, hereditary peer, and Crossbench member of the House of Lords. Early life and education Baldwin was born on 3 January 1938. H ...

References

1918 births 2012 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Fellows of the British Academy People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford Fellows of Trinity College, Oxford Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford British development economists {{Economist-stub