Robert Broughton Bryce, , (February 27, 1910 July 30, 1997) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

civil servant.

Biography

After graduating with engineering degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

, Bryce undertook graduate studies in economics at

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, where he was influenced by the ideas of

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...

. In the fall of 1935, he left Britain for

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 ...

where, as a graduate student, he introduced

Keynesian economics Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output a ...

in the United States, with the help of fellow Canadian Lorie Tarshis. According to

John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through t ...

Joseph Schumpeter Joseph Alois Schumpeter (; February 8, 1883 – January 8, 1950) was an Austrian-born political economist. He served briefly as Finance Minister of German-Austria in 1919. In 1932, he emigrated to the United States to become a professor at H ...

"called Keynes Allah and Bryce his Prophet". Bryce started working for the Department of Finance in 1938, later becoming assistant deputy minister of Finance and Secretary to the Treasury Board. In 1954, he became clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. He retired in 1968 as deputy minister of Finance.

Works

He is the author of ''Maturing in Hard Times: Canada's Department of Finance Through the Great Depression'' (McGill-Queen's Press, 1986, ). His other book, ''Canada and the Cost of World War II: The International Operations of Canada's Department of Finance, 1939-1947'' (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005, ), edited by Matthew J. Bellamy, was published after his death. Bryce was appointed to chair the

Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration The Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration was a royal commission created in 1975 to study corporate concentration in Canada. History The commission was created by the Canadian federal government under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau throug ...

in May 1975. He resigned due to illness before its completion, and can be considered to be one of the authors of the report.

Honours

In 1968, he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

"for his services to Canada in various important posts of public administration". He received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

(1970), Mount Allison University (1970) and the University of British Columbia (1980).

References

External links

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Robert B. Bryce fonds
1910 births 1997 deaths Canadian non-fiction writers Clerks of the Privy Council (Canada) Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Keynesians 20th-century Canadian economists {{Canada-gov-bio-stub