Background
Hahn, Frank Horace was born on April 26, 1925 in Berlin, West Germany. Son of Arnold and Maria (Katz) Hahn.
Hahn, Frank Horace was born on April 26, 1925 in Berlin, West Germany. Son of Arnold and Maria (Katz) Hahn.
Bachelor of Science in Economics, London, 1945. Doctor of Philosophy, London, 1951. Master of Arts, Cambridge University, 1960.
Doctorate. Social Science (honorary), Birmingham (England) University, 1981.
Doctor of Literature (honorary), University East Anglia, Norwich, 1984. Doctor honoris causa, U. Strasbourg, 1984, Doctor of Science in Economics (honorary), London, 1985.
Doctor degree (honorary) U. York, 1991. Doctor of Letters (honorary) U. Leicester, 1993.
Doctor of Philosophy (honorary) U. Athens, 1993.
Lecturer, reader mathematics economics Birmingham University, 1948-1960. Lecturer economics U. Cambridge, 1960-1966, professor economics London School Economics, 1967-1972, professor, 1972-1992, professor emeritus, 1992. Professor ordinario U. Siena, 1989.
Honorary fellow London School Economics, 1989.
Fellow Churchill College, Cambridge, 1960.
Lecturer, then Reader in Mathematical Economics, University of Birmingham 1948-1960. Lecturer in Economics, University of Cambridge 1960-1967. Professor, of Economics, London School of Economics 1967-1972.
Professor, of Economics, University of Cambridge since 1972.
Frank West. Taussig Resident Professor, Harvard University 1974. Visiting Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1956-1957, 197172, 1982, University of California, Berkeley 1959-1960.
Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge since 1960. Fellow of British Academy, American Academy, of Arts and Sciences.
President Econometric Society 1968-1969.
Manager-Editor Review of Economic Studies 1963-1966. President Royal Economics Society 1986-1989. President Section F., British Association 1990.
(This sequel to Frank Hahn's Equilibrium and Macroeconomic...)
(Book by Kenneth J. Arrow, Frank H. Hahn)
My first interest was the theory of income distribution which was the subject of my Doctor of Philosophy. dissertation. The approach taken was in some respects similar to the theory later proposed by Kaldor. But it also differed from it in crucial respects since I did not abandon marginal productivity and I did not stipulate full employment.
But my real interest from very early acquaintance with economics was in what I took to be the programme of Value and Capital: the construction of a rigorous theory of the economy as a whole from a theory of its individual agents.
Quite early on (1952) I con
sidered the proper equilibrium notion for an economy with sequential markets, a subject to which I returned some twenty years later (1974). Debreu’s splendid book made it clear that such sequential economics had to be considered by any monetary theory. Patinkin’s work did not quite provide what was required and I showed that his model always possessed nonmonetary equilibria.
This direction eventually led me to consider general equilibrium with transaction costs.
At the same time I was active in the ‘stability’ research of the 1960s. I am most pleased with my joint work with Negishi on stability when trading at ‘false’ prices is allowed.
The stability interest led to my study of economics with heterogeneous capital goods which showed that finite perfect foresight equilibria had bad properties. Recently I have studied similar problems with overlapping generations.
My recent work has been on conjectural equilibria (to get away from perfect competition) and on employment theory and contracts. In between I have tried to show why neoRicardian economics and monetarist ‘theories’ are aberrations.
Fellow British Academy, Econometric Society (president 1968-1969), National Academy of Sciences (foreign associate 1988), American Academy Arts and Sciences (honorary), American Economic Association (honorary), Royal Economic Society (president 1986-1989), British Association for the Advancement of Science (president section F 1990), Italian Association History Political Economy (honorary).
Married Dorothy Salter in 1946.