Kenneth Arrow was an economist who made broad contributions to diverse fields such as collective decision making, inventory theory, risk analysis and the economics of information. Kenneth’s work had a significant influence on the modern social sciences.
He demonstrated that, given certain conditions, an economy can reach a general equilibrium. For this — and his work on welfare theory — he was jointly awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 1972.
Kenneth received many other accolades in recognition of his work, including the John Bates Clark Medal of the American Economic Association in 1957; and the US National Medal of Science in 2004, for his work on risk and decision making based on imperfect information. In addition to being a Foreign Member of the Society, he was also a member to a number of other prestigious organisations, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the US National Academy of Sciences.
Professor Kenneth Arrow ForMemRS died on 21 February 2017.
Biographical Memoir
Subject groups
-
Health and Human Sciences
Economics
-
Mathematics
Statistics and Operational Research
Awards
-
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Jointly with John R. Hicks for their pioneering contributions to general economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory.
