Frank H. Hahn, 1925-
The perennial renegade, Frank H. Hahn spent most of his
professional
life at Cambridge as virtually the sole
Neo-Walrasian member of an
ardently Keynesian department.
Perhaps his socialization with the irascible critics of
Neoclassical economics, such as Joan Robinson,
imbibed in him a considerable degree of sobriety and
skepticism towards the very Neoclassical economics in which he was
a master.
Frank H. Hahn viewed the Neo-Walrasian research programme without
illusions - remaining one of its most ardent and articulate
defenders but, unique among Neoclassical economists,
also acknowledging and stressing its limits clearly.
(1970, 1973, 1974, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985)
Nonetheless he remained an critic of all systems -
Neoclassical, Neo-Ricardian, Post Keynesian, all.
But he was not a dogmatic nihilist: if his methodological
position could be summed up in a phrase, it would might be
"let a hundred flowers bloom - but take none too seriously."
His positive contributions are many: his work can be more-or-less
divided into concerns over general equilibrium (1971), the
stability of multi-market equilibrium (1958, 1962, 1970, 1982),
the theory of money (1965, 1971) and the theory of economic
growth (1966, 1968, 1969, 1973) and combining all these
with each other.
Frank H. Hahn is presently basking in the sun of Siena, Italy.
Major Works of Frank H. Hahn
- "The Share of Wages in the Trade Cycle", 1950, EJ
- "The Share of Wages in National Income", 1951, Oxford EP
- "The Rate of Interest in General Equilibrium Analysis", 1955, EJ.
- "Gross Substitutes and the Dynamic Stability of General
Equilibrium", 1958, Econometrica.
- "The Patinkin Controversy", 1960, RES
- "The Stability of Growth Equilibrium", 1960, QJE
- "Money, Dynamic Stability and Growth", 1961, Metroeconomica
- "A Stable Adjustment Process for a Competitive Economy", 1962,
RES.
- "A Theorem on Non-Tatonnement Stability" with T.Negishi, 1962,
Econometrica.
- "On the Stability of a Pure Exchange Equilibrium", 1962,
IER.
- "The Stability of the Cournot Oligopoly Solution", 1962, RES
- "On the Disequilibrium Behavior of a Multi-Sectoral Growth Model",
1963, EJ
- "The Theory of Economic Growth: A survey", with
R.C.O.Matthews, 1964, EJ.
- "On Some Problems of Proving the Existence of an Equilibrium
in a Monetary Economy", 1965, in Hahn and Brechling, editors, Theory of
Interest Rates.
- "Equilibrium Dynamics with Heterogeneous Capital Goods", 1966,
QJE
- "On Warranted Growth Paths", 1968, RES.
- "On Money and Growth", 1969, JMCB.
- "Some Adjustment Problems", 1970, Econometrica.
- General Competitive Analysis, with K.J. Arrow, 1971.
- "Equilibrium with Transactions Costs", 1971,
Econometrica.
- "The Winter of Our Discontent", 1973, Economica.
- "On Some Equilibrium Growth Paths", 1973, in Mirrlees and
Stern, editors, Models of Economic Growth.
- "On Transactions Costs, Inessential Sequence Economics and
Money", 1973, RES.
- On the Notion of Equilibrium in Economics, 1974.
- "Revival of Political Economy: The wrong issues and the wrong
arguments", 1975, Economic Record
- "Keynesian Economics and General Equilibrium Theory:
Reflections on some current debates", 1977, in Harcourt,
editor, Microeconomic Foundations of Macroeconomics.
- "Monetarism and Economic Theory", 1980, Economica
- "General Equilibrium Theory", 1981, in Bell and Kristol,
editors, Crisis in Economic Theory
- Money and Inflation, 1982.
- "Reflections on the Invisible Hand", 1982, Lloyd's Bank
Review.
- "The Neo-Ricardians", 1982, Cambridge JE.
- "Stability", 1982, in Arrow and Intriligator, editors,
Handbook of Mathematical Econ.
- "Why I am Not a Monetarist", in Hahn, 1984.
- Equilibrium and Macroeconomics, 1984.
- "In Praise of Economic Theory", in Hahn, 1985.
- Money, Growth and Stability, 1985.
- Critical Essay on Modern Macroeconomic Theory, with
R.M. Solow, 1995.
Resources on Frank Hahn