Simon Kuznets: Cautious Empiricist of the Eastern European Jewish Diaspora

41 Pages Posted: 8 Jan 2009 Last revised: 5 Sep 2012

See all articles by E. Glen Weyl

E. Glen Weyl

Plural Technology Collaboratory, Microsoft Research Special Projects; Plurality Institute; GETTING-Plurality Research Network

Date Written: February 11, 2010

Abstract

Simon Kuznets, Eastern European Jewish immigrant and Nobel laureate, typified data-driven caution of the discipline of empirical economics he helped found. Yet a motive force behind his path-breaking development economics of inequality, culture, institutions, demographics and human capital was a desire to understand his past and people. This connection, hidden in his relationship to mainstream economics, manifests itself in his less-known work on Jewish history and economics. The subtle synergy of Kuznets’s motivation and methodology parallels a broader paradox of how, in the twentieth century, Jews of Eastern European descent transformed one of the most informal and anti-Semitic American sciences.

Keywords: Simon Kuznets, history and economics of the Jews, history of economic thought, development economics, human capital

JEL Classification: B22, B25, B31

Suggested Citation

Weyl, Eric Glen, Simon Kuznets: Cautious Empiricist of the Eastern European Jewish Diaspora (February 11, 2010). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1324422 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1324422

Eric Glen Weyl (Contact Author)

Plural Technology Collaboratory, Microsoft Research Special Projects ( email )

11 Ellsworth Ave, #2
Cambridge, MA 02139
United States
8579984513 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.glenweyl.com

Plurality Institute ( email )

GETTING-Plurality Research Network ( email )

124 Mount Auburn Street
Suite 520N
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
371
Abstract Views
3,388
Rank
147,090
PlumX Metrics