Dieter Josef Bös

Background

Bös, Dieter Josef was born on August 4, 1940 in Prague, Czech Republic. Son of Josef and Margret (Ressel) Bös.

Education

Juris Doctor, University Vienna, Austria, 1963. D. of Political Science, University Vienna, Austria, 1968.

Career

Assistant, University Vienna, 1965-1971. Professor of Economics, University Graz, Austria,

1971-1975. Professor of Economics, University Vienna, Austria, 1975-1979.

Visiting Professor, Harvard University, 1981. Board of Directors, Sonderforschungsbereich 21 on Economic Modelling, Bonn, W. Germany. Visiting Professor, London School of Economies and Political Science, London, United Kingdom since 1975.

Director, Institute, Institution Economics, University Bonn, Bonn, W. Germany, since 1979. Managing Editor, Zeitschrift fur Nationalokonomie, 1973. Editorial Board, Empirica, since 1974.

Achievements

• Dr. Theodor Korner Prize, Vienna, 1967. Dr. Leopold Kunschak Prize, Vienna, 1971. Directory, Austrian Economics Association, 1975.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Pricing and Price Regulation: An Economic Theory for Public Enterprises and Public Utilities (Volume 34)

    (This clear, precisely written text presents an important ...)

  • Public Enterprise Economics: Theory and Application (Volume 23)

• Other Work

  • Managing editor Journal Economics, since 1973. Author: Public Sector Pricing, 1985, second edition, 1989, Privatization, 1991, Pricing and Price Regulation, 1994, numerous others. Contributor over 150 articles to professional journals.

Views

I began as an institutional economist, accentuating the connections between law and economics. My ever increasing desire for general results, however, changed me gradually into a mathematical economist. But I always remained interested in those fields of economic theory where government regulations prevail and consumers or entrepreneurs react upon these regulations.

In dealing with such regulatory activities, I find the normative approaches (Pareto optimality, fairness, maximisation of social welfare functions) as interesting as the positive approaches (actual behaviour of bureaucrats, voters, public enterprises management, etc.). The confrontation between normative and positive economics characterises much of my work, most clearly to be seen in my advanced textbook on Public Enterprise Economics (1985). This book summarises my own previous theoretical work on public sector pricing, extends it and fits it into the general framework of public pricing theory.

The theoretical derivations are empirically tested on data for London Transport.

Other recent research deals with the economics of taxation, in search of adequate theoretical foundations of income tax progressivity. As I am one of too few mathematical public economists in the German-speaking countries, I am engaged in encouraging young economists to research in this field. Last,

but not least, I devote much time to the editing of ‘my’ journal, Zeitschrift fur Nationalokonomie, which I have switched into an English-written journal with a high theoretical level in the last ten years.

Membership

Member European Economic Association (steering committee 1984-1985, member council 1986-1990, treasurer 1990-1993), International Seminar in Public Economics (executive committee 1986-1992, chairman 1993-1999).

Interests

• Opera, reading novels, playing with model railways.

Connections

Married Emöke Bady, December 1, 1966. Children: Ursula, Monika, Leonhard, Dominik.

Father:

Josef Bös

Mother:

Margret (Ressel) Bös

Spouse:

Emöke Bady

child:

Ursula Bös

child:

Monika Bös

child:

Leonhard Bös

child:

Dominik Bös