Mason Gaffney facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mason Gaffney
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Born | White Plains, New York, United States
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October 18, 1923
Died | July 16, 2020 Redlands, California, United States
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(aged 96)
Institution | University of California, Riverside |
Field | Public economics |
School or tradition |
Classical economics |
Alma mater | Harvard University Reed College University of California, Berkeley |
Influences | Henry George |
Merrill Mason Gaffney (born October 18, 1923 – died July 16, 2020) was an American economist. He was known for his strong opinions about how economies work.
Gaffney often disagreed with a common way of thinking called Neoclassical economics. Instead, he followed ideas from Georgism, which focuses on how land and natural resources should be used.
He first read a famous book called Progress and Poverty by Henry George when he was in high school. This book greatly influenced his ideas about economics.
Mason Gaffney started studying at Harvard University in 1941. However, he wasn't happy with how economics was taught there. So, in 1942, he left to join the war effort during World War II. He served in the southwest Pacific.
After the war, he earned his first degree (B.A.) from Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 1948. Later, in 1956, he earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. For his Ph.D., he wrote about how buying and selling land just to make money could stop land from being used in the best way.
From 1976 onwards, Gaffney was a Professor of Economics at the University of California, Riverside. He passed away in July 2020 when he was 96 years old.
Mason Gaffney's Career Journey
Mason Gaffney had a very interesting and varied career. He didn't just teach at universities; he also worked in other fields.
He was a professor of economics at many different universities. He also worked as a journalist for TIME, Inc., a well-known magazine.
Gaffney also did research for an organization called Resources for the Future. He even started his own research group in British Columbia, Canada, called the British Columbia Institute for Economic Policy Analysis. He led this group for several years.
He often worked as an economic consultant, giving advice to businesses and government groups. He also frequently gave talks about economic topics, both in the United States and in other countries. He even helped with political campaigns.
In 1984, he was chosen to be a Director of the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation. This foundation helps spread the ideas of Henry George.
Here are some of the places where Mason Gaffney worked:
- University of Oregon (1953-1954) - Instructor
- North Carolina State University (1954-1958) - Assistant Professor
- University of Missouri (1958-1962) - Associate Professor and Professor of Agricultural Economics
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1962-1969) - Professor of Economics; he was also the department chair from 1963 to 1965.
- UCLA (1967) - Visiting Professor of Economics
- Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C. (1969-1973) - Senior Research Associate
- British Columbia Institute for Economic Policy Analysis, Victoria, B.C. (1973-1976) - Founder and Director
- University of California, Riverside (1976-2012) - Professor of Economics. He taught both Managerial Economics and general Economics there.
See also
In Spanish: Mason Gaffney para niños