Angus Deaton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir Angus Deaton
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Deaton in 2015
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| Born |
Angus Stewart Deaton
19 October 1945 Edinburgh, Scotland
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| Nationality | British, American |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Case |
| Alma mater | Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge |
| Doctoral advisor |
Richard Stone |
| Awards |
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| Information at IDEAS / RePEc | |
Sir Angus Stewart Deaton (born 19 October 1945) is a famous economist from Scotland who also holds American citizenship. An economist is someone who studies how people make, share, and use money and goods. Deaton is known for his work on understanding poverty, health, and how people can live good lives.
He works as a professor at Princeton University and the University of Southern California. His research focuses on how people spend their money and what that tells us about their well-being.
In 2015, Deaton won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, one of the highest awards an economist can receive. He won it for his detailed studies on consumption (how people use goods and services), poverty, and welfare (the health and happiness of a group).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Angus Deaton was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. As a young boy, he went to Hawick High School and later attended Fettes College.
For his university studies, he went to the famous University of Cambridge in England. There, he earned his bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees. A Ph.D. is the highest university degree a person can get. His final research project, called a thesis, was about how people in the United Kingdom decide what to buy. His teacher and guide for this project was Richard Stone, who had also won a Nobel Prize.
Career as an Economist
After finishing his studies, Deaton started his career as a professor. In 1976, he began teaching at the University of Bristol in England. It was here that he did some of his most important early work. In 1978, he was the very first person to win the Frisch Medal. This is a special award given for excellent research papers in economics.
In 1983, Deaton moved to the United States to work at Princeton University. He has been a professor there for many years, teaching students about economics and world affairs. He is also a professor at the University of Southern California.
Important Research and Ideas
Deaton's work has helped change how we think about economics. He is known for linking the small choices individual people make to the big picture of a country's economy.
How People Spend Money
One of Deaton's first major ideas was a tool he created with another economist, John Muellbauer. They called it the "Almost Ideal Demand System" (AIDS). This sounds complicated, but it's a way to understand how families and individuals decide what to buy.
The system looks at how the price of goods and a person's income affect their shopping choices. For example, if the price of bread goes up, how does that change what a family buys? This tool is very useful for governments. It helps them predict how new laws or taxes might affect ordinary people and their well-being.
Health and Well-Being in America
Later in his career, Deaton worked with his wife, Anne Case, who is also an economist. They studied a surprising trend in the United States. They found that the health of some groups of middle-aged white Americans was getting worse, and their lifespans were getting shorter.
Their research showed that this was happening mostly to people who did not have a college education. They called these health problems "deaths of despair." They found that these issues were often linked to economic problems, like losing a job or having fewer opportunities than their parents had. This important research helped show how a person's financial situation can be closely connected to their health.
Nobel Prize and Other Honors
In 2015, Angus Deaton received his most famous award: the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. When he found out, he said he was "delighted" and described himself as "someone who's concerned with the poor of the world and how people behave, and what gives them a good life."
The group that gives out the Nobel Prize said that Deaton's work was very important. They explained that to reduce poverty, leaders first need to understand how people make choices about what they buy. They said, "More than anyone else, Angus Deaton has enhanced this understanding."
Besides the Nobel Prize, Deaton has received many other awards.
- 1978: Frisch Medal from the Econometric Society.
- 2011: BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for his work on consumption and well-being.
- 2016: He was made a knight by the Queen of England for his work in economics. This is why he is called "Sir" Angus Deaton.
Personal Life
Angus Deaton is married to Anne Case. They often work together on research projects. In their free time, they enjoy going to the opera and fishing. Deaton has two children from a previous marriage. He holds citizenship in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Books
- Deaton, Angus. (1981). Essays in the Theory and Measurement of Consumer Behaviour. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9780521067553.
- Deaton, Angus; Zaidi, Salman. (2002). Guidelines for Constructing Consumption Aggregates for Welfare Analysis. New York: World Bank Press. ISBN: 0821349902.
See also
In Spanish: Angus Deaton para niños
