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An Economist among Mandarins

A Biography of Robert Hall, 1901–1988

Kit Jones author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:28th Jul '94

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An Economist among Mandarins cover

A biography of Robert Hall, the highly respected and influential Economic Adviser to the government between 1947 and 1961.

This biography of Robert Hall, the highly respected and influential Economic Adviser to the government between 1947 and 1961, puts a new slant on the events of these years as well as assessing Hall's role in them.Robert Hall was the highly respected and influential Economic Adviser to the government between 1947 and 1961. He came to England from Australia as a Rhodes Scholar, became an Oxford don and a wartime civil servant. Within two years of returning to Oxford after the war, he was recalled to Whitehall. His appointment as Director of the Economic Section, first in the Cabinet Office and then in the Treasury, came at a crucial time in the development of the modern economic state, when governments were just taking on responsibility for managing the general course of the economy. As the senior members of the Treasury were rooted in a pre-Keynesian age, Hall's influence grew rapidly and was at times dominant with ministers. He was involved in all aspects of economic policy. This book puts a new slant on the events of these years as well as assessing Hall's role in them.

"Jones' study of Hall is a useful addition to the literature on the formulation of economic policy during the postwar period as well as an interesting account of the role of a twentieth century professional economist. The volume is solidly based on official records and contains a number of interesting documents as appendices that provide a sense of the nature of the advice Hall provided." Gerard Koot, Albion
"The best parts of Kit Jones's short biography are the early chapters on the years in Australia, which utilize Hall's unfinished autobiography....she builds an illuminating and affectionate portrait of the man while describing the many complex policy issues on which he advised." Susan Howson, American Historical Review

ISBN: 9780521471558

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 16mm

Weight: 530g

266 pages