Walter Galenson (1914 – December 30, 1999) was a professor of economics at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
and a noted
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
labor historian and economist.
Education and early career
He received his
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in 1934, his Master of Science in 1935 and his Ph.D. in 1940—all from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
[''Who's Who in America'', 2004.]
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 opposi ...
, Galenson was an economist
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, ...
. He was the principal economist for the department from 1942 to 1943. He then became principal economist at the
Office of Strategic Services (the forerunner to the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
) from 1943 to 1944. After the war, Galenson was a labor attaché at the American embassies in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
and
Denmark
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from 1945 to 1946.
["Obituaries", ''Cornell Chronicle'', January 20, 2000.]
Academic career
Galenson received an appointment as an assistant professor of economics at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
in 1946. He left Harvard in 1951 to teach economics 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 ...
, where, from 1957 to 1961, he was chair of the Center for Chinese Studies. He left Berkeley in 1965, one of many prominent academics who left after being accused of being too conservative, and took a position as a visiting professor of economics at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
.
Galenson became increasingly active in labor and
Third World
The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
economic development issues, and from 1961 to 1971, he served as a consultant to the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
(ILO). He served as the U.S. delegate to the ILO in 1972 and again in 1976.
In 1966, Galenson joined the faculty at Cornell permanently as a professor of economics; in 1976, he was appointed Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Economics. In 1970, Galenson spent an academic year as
Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions The Pitt Professorship of American History and Institutions was established at the University of Cambridge on 5 February 1944 from a sum of £44,000 received from the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press in 1943 and augmented by a further £5,0 ...
at
Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
in the United Kingdom. He was the first non-historian to hold the post.
While teaching at Cambridge, he was awarded a second master's degree in 1971.
From 1971 to 1972, Galenson served as a consultant in economic development to the government of
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. In 1974, Galenson was appointed a visiting professor of economics at
University of Gothenburg
The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...
,
Sweden.
Personal life
He married, and he and his wife Marjorie (also a professor of economics) had a son,
David Galenson, and two daughters.
Galenson retired from teaching in 1990, and died in his sleep on December 30, 1999, in
Washington, D.C.
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Research work
Galenson's research focused on labor history,
comparative labor studies,
labor economics, and the economics of development in emerging markets.
Galenson's primary reputation was based on his work in comparative labor economics. He made the first serious study by a Westerner of labor productivity in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
.
[Johnston, "Walter Galenson, 85, Economist; Wrote Books on Labor History", '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', January 6, 2000. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he directed a large research project, financed by the
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
, on the economic development of the Chinese economy—one of the first studies of the modernization of the Chinese economy and its effect on surrounding nations.
His 1964 book, ''The Quality of Labour and Economic Development in Certain Countries: A Preliminary Study,'' was a pioneering study of how the living conditions of people in the Third World affected economic development in industrialized nations.
Galenson was also internationally recognized as an expert on trade unionism and economics in
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
.
However, Galenson's work as a labor historian was significant. His 1960 book, ''The CIO Challenge to the AFL: A History of the American Labor Movement'', is still cited as one of the fundamental works in the field. Galenson promoted the view that the
Taft-Hartley Act and the anti-communism of the 1950s sundered the coalition labor had with political leftists, and contributed significantly to the decline of the labor movement. The view, controversial at the time, is widely adopted today.
Galenson is also one of the few labor historians to study the history of the American labor movement in the post-AFL-CIO merger era. His 1996 work, ''The American Labor Movement, 1955–1995'', covers the AFL-CIO's efforts in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s—a largely neglected period of labor history.
[Most scholarly studies focus on American labor history from the end of the Civil War to 1960. Relatively little work has been done on the period from 1960 to the present. "Obituaries", ''Cornell Chronicle,'' January 20, 2000.]
His 1981 study of the U.S. policy toward the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
remains the most valuable work on that topic.
Awards and memberships
In 1950, Galenson was named a
Fulbright fellow
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 ...
. In 1954, he was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship in economics. Galenson was a member of the
American Philological Association. He was also a member of the
Association for Comparative Economic Studies, and served as that organization's president in 1973.
Published works
Solely authored books
*''The American Labor Movement, 1955–1995.'' Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996.
*''The CIO Challenge to the AFL: A History of the American Labor Movement.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...
, 1960.
*''The Danish System of Labor Relations: A Study in Industrial Peace.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1952.
*''The International Labor Organization: An American View.'' 1st ed. Madison, Wisc.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1981.
*''Labor in Norway.'' New York City: Russell & Russell, 1949.
*''Labor Productivity in Soviet and American Industry.''
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...
, 1955.
*''The Quality of Labour and Economic Development in Certain Countries: A Preliminary Study.'' Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office, 1964.
*''Trade Union Democracy in Western Europe.'' Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1961.
*''Trade Union Growth and Decline: An International Study.'' 1st ed. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 1994.
*''The United Brotherhood of Carpenters: The First Hundred Years.'' 1st ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts" Harvard University Press, 1983.
*''The World's Strongest Trade Unions: The Scandinavian Labor Movement.'' Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998.
Co-authored books
*Adams, John Clarke and Galenson, Walter. ''Comparative Labor Movements.'' New York City: Prentice Hall, 1952.
*Galenson, Walter and Lipset, Seymour Martin. ''Labor and Trade Unionism: An Interdisciplinary Reader.'' New York City: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1960.
Solely edited books
*''Comparative Labor Movements.'' Galenson, Walter, ed. 2nd ed. New York City: Russell & Russell Publishers, 1968.
*''Foreign Trade and Investment. Economic Development in the Newly Industrializing Countries.'' Galenson, Walter, ed. University of Wisconsin Press.
Co-edited books
*Dunlop, John T. and Galenson, Walter, eds. ''Labor in the Twentieth Century.'' New York: Academic Press, 1978.
Notes
References
*Johnston, David Cay. "Walter Galenson, 85, Economist; Wrote Books on Labor History." ''New York Times.'' January 6, 2000.
*"Obituaries." ''Cornell Chronicle.'' January 20, 2000.
*''Who's Who in America.'' 46th ed. New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who, 2004.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galenson, Walter
1914 births
1999 deaths
20th-century American economists
Historians of the United States
Labor historians
Columbia University alumni
Harvard University faculty
Cornell University faculty
Academic staff of the University of Gothenburg
Academics of the University of Cambridge
20th-century American historians
American male non-fiction writers
People of the Office of Strategic Services
20th-century American male writers