The Lord Kahn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Ferdinand Kahn (1905-08-10)10 August 1905 Hampstead, England, UK |
| Died | 6 June 1989(1989-06-06) (aged 83) Cambridge, England, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Academic background | |
| Influences | Gerald Shove,John Maynard Keynes |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Political economy |
| School or tradition | Keynesian economics |
| Notable ideas | Economic multiplier |
| Website | |
Richard Ferdinand Kahn, Baron Kahn,CBE,FBA (10 August 1905 – 6 June 1989) was a Britisheconomist.
Kahn was born inHampstead into theorthodox Jewish family of Augustus Kahn, inspector of schools and former German schoolmaster, and Regina Schoyer. He was brought up in England and educated atSt Paul's School, London. He attendedKing's College, Cambridge.[1] Kahn took a 1st in Mathematics, Part I, at Cambridge, followed in 1927 by a 2nd in Physics in the Natural Sciences tripos. Taughteconomics byGerald Shove andJohn Maynard Keynes from 1927 to 1928, he gained a 1st in Economics, Part II, in 1928. In 1930, he was elected aFellow of King's College.[2]
Kahn worked in the Faculty of Economics and Politics from 1933. He became Director of Studies for economics students at King's College in 1947, a post he held for four years. Kahn was appointed professor of economics in 1951, and succeeded Keynes as Bursar of King's College.[3] He served in numerous other government and agency positions, such as the research and planning division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe in 1955 and the UK National Coal Board in 1967.[1] Kahn retired from Cambridge in 1972, but continued to live atKing's College.
Kahn's most notable contribution to economics was hisprinciple of the multiplier. The multiplier is the relation between the increase in aggregate expenditure and the increase in net national product (output).[2] It is the increase in aggregate expenditure (for example government spending) that causes the increase in output (or income).[4] His findings on the multiplier were first published in his 1931 article, "The Relation of Home Investment to Unemployment".[5] There has been extensive debate on whether Kahn's thinking on the multiplier was foreshadowed or aided by the work of other economists such asLyndhurst Giblin.[6]
Kahn was one of the five members of Keynes'Cambridge Circus. Kahn was also one of Keynes' closest collaborators on the creation of Keynes'General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.[7]
Kahn was made aCommander of theOrder of the British Empire (CBE) in 1946[8] and became a Fellow of theBritish Academy in 1960, and was created alife peer with the titleBaron Kahn, ofHampstead in theLondon Borough of Camden on 6 July 1965.[9]
