Frank Knight

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Frank Hyneman Knight (born November 7, 1885 in McLean County , Illinois , † April 15, 1972 in Chicago ) was an American economist . He is considered the founder of the Chicago School of Economics.

Life

After completing various studies, Knight turned to economics at Cornell University . Under the title “Risk, Uncertainty and Profit” he submitted a dissertation on the theory of entrepreneurial profit . To this end, he introduced the distinction between risk and uncertainty , which is still valid today, into economic theory. Risks can be calculated, while under conditions of uncertainty no expected value can be given. The economic function of the entrepreneur therefore consists in entering into unpredictable uncertainties (uncertainties). Knight thus laid the foundation for modern decision theory and presented neoclassical competition theory in its binding form.

After a brief stopover in Iowa, Knight worked at the University of Chicago from 1928 until his death . In a few years he developed into a formative personality within his faculty and is now considered the father of the so-called Chicago School (together with Jacob Viner ).

In 1950, Knight was the American Economic Association as president-elect before.

research

Frank Knight has left the economic discipline a multi-layered and multi-faceted work: It ranges from contributions on capital theory , to micro and macroeconomics, to methodology. He introduced the English-speaking reader to the "principles of economics" of Carl Menger , although he accused him of "naive economism". He also translated Max Weber's “Economic History” into English, which was the first ever translation of a work by the German social scientist. The largest part of his writings, however, is devoted to socio-philosophical topics such as equality, freedom, democracy, justice, ethics and social reforms.

In 1934, Knight was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . Among other things, he was the teacher of Milton Friedman , Nobel Prize winner in economics and the founder of monetarism .

See also

Works

  • Risk, Uncertainty and Profit (1921)
  • The Ethics of Competition and Other Essays (1935)
  • On the History and Method of Economics (1956)

literature

  • Claus Noppeney : Between the Chicago School and Ordoliberalism. Economic ethical traces in the economy Frank Knights (1998)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Past and Present Officers. aeaweb.org ( American Economic Association ), accessed October 31, 2015 .
personal data
SURNAME Knight, Frank
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Knight, Frank Hyneman (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American economist
DATE OF BIRTH November 7, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH McLean County , Illinois
DATE OF DEATH April 15, 1972
Place of death Chicago , Illinois