Michael Allingham is a British

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 ...

whose main work has been on equilibrium theory, choice theory, and distributive justice. Michael Allingham with bronze and charcoal

Life

Michael Allingham was educated at

Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...

and then at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, where he 'read natural philosophy and then political economy'. From 1967 until 1977 he taught at various universities in the U.K. and the U.S.; from 1977 to 1993 he held the chair in economic theory at the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

; and from 1993 to 2009 he was Frank Richardson Fellow at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, where he is now an Emeritus Fellow. He has ridden under

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amo ...

rules, and was joint-owner of the winner of the 2002 Dewhurst Stakes, 'the single most significant two-year-old race in Europe'. He has been a Local Steward, and Racecourse Chairman, with the

Work

Before moving to Oxford Allingham's main work was on

general equilibrium theory In economics, general equilibrium theory attempts to explain the behavior of supply, demand, and prices in a whole economy with several or many interacting markets, by seeking to prove that the interaction of demand and supply will result in an ov ...

; while he was teaching at Magdalen it was on

rational choice theory Rational choice theory refers to a set of guidelines that help understand economic and social behaviour. The theory originated in the eighteenth century and can be traced back to political economist and philosopher, Adam Smith. The theory postula ...

; and subsequently it has been on

distributive justice Distributive justice concerns the socially just allocation of resources. Often contrasted with just process, which is concerned with the administration of law, distributive justice concentrates on outcomes. This subject has been given considera ...

General equilibrium theory In economics, general equilibrium theory attempts to explain the behavior of supply, demand, and prices in a whole economy with several or many interacting markets, by seeking to prove that the interaction of demand and supply will result in an ov ...

is 'the most prestigious economics of all'. In substance, it concerns the workings of the entire economy; in style, it is axiomatic and rigorous.

Léon Walras Marie-Esprit-Léon Walras (; 16 December 1834 – 5 January 1910) was a French mathematical economist and Georgist. He formulated the marginal theory of value (independently of William Stanley Jevons and Carl Menger) and pioneered the developmen ...

, the founder of general equilibrium theory, claimed in 1854 that 'pure economics is, in essence, the theory of the determination of prices under a hypothetical regime of perfectly free competition'. Allingham's work is rooted in the Walrasian tradition: in his entry in ''Who's Who in Economics'' he refers to Walras's definition, and says that his own work may be seen as an extension of this.

Rational choice theory Rational choice theory refers to a set of guidelines that help understand economic and social behaviour. The theory originated in the eighteenth century and can be traced back to political economist and philosopher, Adam Smith. The theory postula ...

transcends the boundaries of economics, and exemplifies Allingham's interests as being 'in the core theoretical problems which lie at the intersection of philosophy and economics'. It explores what is meant by rationality, and how this may be characterized. His work in this area is also axiomatic: as a review in ''

The Economic Journal ''The Economic Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of economics published on behalf of the Royal Economic Society by Oxford University Press. The journal was established in 1891 and publishes papers from all areas of economics.The edito ...

'' of his book ''Rational Choice'' notes, 'its treatment is abstract and axiomatic ... few concessions are being made to the uninitiated'.

Distributive justice Distributive justice concerns the socially just allocation of resources. Often contrasted with just process, which is concerned with the administration of law, distributive justice concentrates on outcomes. This subject has been given considera ...

again transcends the boundaries of economics. It considers what is meant by a just distribution of goods among members of society. Allingham develops the view that all theories of justice, or at least all liberal theories, may be seen as expressions of laissez-faire with compensations for factors that they consider to be morally arbitrary. His latest book has been described by a reviewer as 'a probing analytical comparison, by an economic theorist, of the major accounts dominating that literature ... meticulously isolating their respective strengths and weaknesses: a ''tour de force. Allingham is also the author of the novel ''Trust'', 'an entertainment in the sense used by Graham Greene: a story that shows a profound interest in the interplay of morality and abnormal behavior'.

Publications

;Academic books *''Distributive Justice'',

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, 2014 *''Rational Choice Theory'' (editor, five volumes),

, 2006 *''Choice Theory: A Very Short Introduction'',

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 ...

, 2002 (translated into Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Russian, and Spanish; also available as an Audiobook) *''Rational Choice'',

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...

, 1999 *''Arbitrage'',

, 1991 (translated into Italian) *''Theory of Markets'',

, 1989 *''Unconscious Contracts'',

, 1987 (republished as Volume 1 in ''Routledge Library Editions: Psychoanalysis'') *''Value'',

, 1983 *''General Equilibrium'', Macmillan, 1975 *''Equilibrium and Disequilibrium'', Ballinger, 1973 ;Essential articles *Existence theorems in the capital asset pricing model, ''

Econometrica ''Econometrica'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of economics, publishing articles in many areas of economics, especially econometrics. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Econometric Society. The current editor-in-chief is Gui ...

'', 59 *Stability of monopoly, ''

'', 44 *Equilibrium and stability, ''

'', 42 (reprinted in ''Critical Ideas in Economics: Equilibrium'', ed. Walker) *Tâtonnement stability, ''

'', 40 *Second best and decentralization (with Archibald), ''

Journal of Economic Theory The ''Journal of Economic Theory'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of economic theory. Karl Shell has served as editor-in-chief of the journal since it was established in 1968. Since 2000, he has shared the editor ...

'', 10 *The measurement of inequality, ''

'', 5

References

External links

Academic webpageChoice TheoryDistributive JusticeRational ChoiceRational Choice TheoryTrust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allingham, Michael Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Living people Year of birth missing (living people)