Walter Yasuo Oi (July 1, 1929 – December 24, 2013) was the Elmer B. Milliman Professor of

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...

at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of ...

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

, a distinguished fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and a recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. He is credited with providing the economic basis for a

voluntary military A volunteer military system or all volunteer military system (AVMS) is a military service system that maintains the military only with applicants without compulsory conscription. A country may offer attractive pay and benefits through military re ...

and the elimination of a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

Early life

Oi was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. He obtained a Ph.D. in

from 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 1961. At age 13, Oi and his family were detained by U.S. authorities and sent along with other Japanese-Americans to an internment camp following the signing of

Executive Order 9066 Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States president Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the secretary of war to prescribe certain ...

. For the first few days of his internment, Oi and his family lived in a stall at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

. Oi began to lose his sight in the 1960s, as he finished his doctoral work and began searching for a faculty position.

Role in the development of an all volunteer force

In his contribution to ''The Costs and Implications of an All-Volunteer Force'' (1967) (of which he was also editor) Oi outlined the different calculations required to differentiate between the budgetary cost of military personnel and the economic cost to the nation of

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

. He identified the hidden costs of drafted force as the impact on the mental well-being of those drafted. Oi estimated the loss in monetary terms of this effect to be between $826 million and $1.134 billion. Oi was then employed as the staff economist on President Nixon's Commission on an All-Volunteer Armed Force (the Gates Commission) in the early 1970s. His research was used as a key piece of evidence in the debate to end the policy of conscription.Conference Organized to Honor Economist Walter Oi
/ref> Conscription ended in 1973.Henderson
The Role of Economists in Ending the Draft
p. 362.

Role in relation to disability

Oi was the vice-chair of the President's Commission on Employment of People with Disabilities.

Awards and honors

Oi was elected a fellow of the

in 1993. Oi was named a distinguished fellow of the

American Economic Association The American Economic Association (AEA) is a learned society in the field of economics. It publishes several peer-reviewed journals acknowledged in business and academia. There are some 23,000 members. History and Constitution The AEA was esta ...

, a distinguished fellow of the Society of Labor Economists, and a fellow of the Econometrics Society. In 2000, Oi received the

Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service The Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service is the second highest award presented by the Secretary of Defense to non-career Federal employees, private citizens, and foreign nationals for contributions, assistance, or support to D ...

for his work leading to the adoption of an all-volunteer military.

Personal

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Oi was interned at the Granada internment camp since he was a

Nisei is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generation, ...

, an American of second generation

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 ...

descent. Oi had been gradually losing his sight for the majority of his life and unable to read text since entering college. By 1956, he was totally blind. He continued to teach, collaborate and work until he died, aged 84, in Rochester, New York.

Bibliography

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Notes

References

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External links

*
Profile of Walter Y. Oi from the Department of Defense
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oi, Walter 1929 births 2013 deaths American economists Japanese-American internees University of Rochester faculty American academics of Japanese descent American blind people Labor economists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the Econometric Society Blind academics Distinguished Fellows of the American Economic Association