Bradford DeLong
Bradford DeLong, interviewed in this issue, took up his current position as Professor of Economics at the University of California at Berkeley in 1997. Professor DeLong is a leading macroeconomist and economic historian, and is best known for his work on economic growth, business cycles, finance and globalisation. He has also written extensively on the rise of the ‘E-conomy’ and the economic implications of the digital and informational revolutions. The numerous articles that he has written include: “The Marshall Plan: History’s most successful structural adjustment programme” (with Barry Eichengreen), in Rudiger Dornbusch, Wilhelm Nölling, and Richard Layard, (eds.), Postwar Economic Reconstruction and Lessons for the East Today (MIT Press, 1993); “Princes and merchants: City growth before the industrial revolution” (with Andrei Shleifer), Journal of Law and Economics (October, 1993); “Keynesianism, Pennsylvania-Avenue style: Some economic consequences of the 1946 Employment Act”, Journal of Economic Perspectives (Summer, 1996); “Why we should fear deflation”, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (Spring, 1999); and “How much credit does Clinton deserve for the economy?”, Fortune
(2001). Professor DeLong’s forthcoming
books include: The Economic History of the Twentieth Century: Slouching Towards Utopia? (draft can be
viewed at http://econ161.berkeley.edu/TCEH/Slouch_Old.html).
Papers Published in World Economics:
In Praise of Historical Economics
Author: An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Professor Bradford DeLong is a leading macroeconomist and economic historian,
and is best known for his work on economic growth, business cycles, finance and
issues relating to international economic history and globalisation. However, his interests and publications cover a vast range of issues and, above all, his research and publications demonstrate the important insights that contemporary
economists can gain from a deep knowledge of history. In this article/interview
the author argues that economists, particularly those interested in economic
growth, have much to gain by paying more attention to the literature of ‘historical economics’. In the interview that follows, Professor DeLong gives his views on economists and economic history, the industrial revolution, long-run changes in living standards, economic growth, US economic leadership, depressions, inflation and instability, the ‘new economy’, and the twentieth century.
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