Nicholas Kaldor and the Real World

Nicholas Kaldor (1908-1986) was one of the most brilliant economists of the twentieth century. During his 54 year career, he contributed to economic theory and policy in fields as disparate as welfare theory and tax policy. Although he was an early admirer of the conservative economist Frederick von Hayek, he built intellectual bridges between classical economists and the Keynesians and became known as a post Keynesian.
Kaldor's story is of a talented Hungarian boy educated in Hungary, Germany. and at the London School of Economics. He started teaching at the London School of Economics during the Keynesian and Value revolutions in economic theory at the height of the Great Depression. An early article "invented" and named the Cobweb Theorem, reaching not only economists but also the public through the letters column of the London Times. He went on to serve France in its reconstruction plan after World War II. He served the United Nations in its effort to understand the economic requirements of rebuilding Europe. He also advised many developing countries on tax reform.
Joining the Cambridge University teaching staff in 1949, he became a Don at King's College and in 1966 was recognized with a Professorship. He served two Labour governments as an adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. An English citizen since 1934, he was elevated to the Peerage as Baron Kaldor of Newnham in the City of Cambridge in 1974 and soon took his place in the House of Lords in time to battle the latest revolution among economists - the monetarist revolution.
In this fascinating intellectual biography, Turner studies these and other major contributions and controversies in light of the times in which Kaldor lived and as they continue to be reviewed since Kaldor's death in 1986.