James Meade : The Utopian Economist

A comprehensive biography on James Meade based on archival sources, describing his life and career, at Oxford and the League of Nations before the war, in wartime government service and at the London School of Economics and Cambridge, giving equal attention to his theoretical work and to his policy ideas.

James Meade was a highly influential British economist who made significant contributions to both theoretical economics and economic policy. He was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work on the theory of international economic policy and was one of the first economists to serve in the wartime Economic Section of the Cabinet Offices, becoming Director in 1946. Among his many successes in applying theory to policy are the first official national income accounts, 'Keynesian' employment policies and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. This comprehensive biography of Meade's life and career, based on archival sources, covers both his achievements in theoretical economics and his contributions to the development of British and international economic policy during and after the Second World War. It will be of interest to anyone interested in the history of economics in the twentieth century.