The Life and Works of Milton Friedman

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Milton Friedan is another legacy in contemporary economics. He was born in the early 20^th century in New York State. Friedman received the Nobel price in 1976 for his works in economics. He was a fervent advocate of free markets and defied the academic establishment of the time and set forth his own beliefs about economics. Because of his great work in economics, as a political commentator and essayist his is one of the most recognized living economists.

Friedman was born to Jewish immigrants on July 31, 1912. He was the first son and the last of four children born to Sarah Ethel and Jeno Saul Friedman. His parents met in their teens here in the United States. His mother ran a “dry goods” store and his father went out on “job ventures” that went unsuccessful. His family was humble yet they were supportive.

He went to public school, like his sisters. In 1928 he graduated from Rahway High School.  Unfortunately his dad died that year leaving his mom older sisters to support the family. He received competitive scholarship from Rutgers University in New Jersey, which was a small and private college. At Rutgers University he studied mathematics actually he was studying to become an actuary. He actually took some actuarial tests. During his time at Rutgers he was influenced by two professors, Arthur F. Boned and Homer Jones who convinced him that modern macroeconomist could heal the depression. After words he was interested in economics and got a degree in both fields. On recommendation from Homer Jones, who also would teach at University of Chicago, Chicago Economics department offered him a scholarship.

His first year at Chicago was financially difficult; he had a lot of trouble. It also proved to be the most intellectually stimulated. He has not recovered from the amazement and invigorating he had when he worked in the intellectual environment he was presented with and had never experienced. It was there where he met Rose Director, a fellow economics student. He describes her as “shy, withdrawn, lovely, and extremely bright”. They married six years after and did live happily after. His colleague Shultz friendship with Hotelline, he was granted a fellowship at Columbia University. He their also learned a lot more, he was introduced to a new perspective, more empirical, about economics.

One of his fist jobs was at the National Bureau of Economic Research where he assisted Shultz in 1937. They looked at professional income the end result was his fist, co-authored, book Incomes from Independent Professional Income. It also serves as his desertion for Columbia. The book was delayed for publishing until after war because of it conclusion of a doctors monopoly. The book introduces the concept of transitory and permanent income.

It was his 1957 work, the Theory of Consumption, in which Friedman took on the view of Keynesian economics. He had his conclusion, which he had made as conclusion to his previous experience and work in economics; he believed that it was people’s annual consumption is a function of their annual income. He even coined a new term, permanent income, which was an mean average of income people expect over few years. Keynes believed that people adujseted their expenditure according to the income.

In 1960, Friedman authored another book, Capitalism and Freedom. It is arguably the most important economic books of the twentieth century; in it he talked about more that just economics. In it he argued for a free market to the general audience. He also commented on some policy issues; a volunteer army, freely floating exchange rates, abolition of licensing of doctors, a negative income tax, and education vouchers. Friedman was a passionate enemy of military draft; he acutely said that it was only policy he ever lobbied against in congress. The book was read many young people, many of whom decided to study economics themselves. A short while after that he co-authored, with his wife, another book, Free to Choose. The book made accompanied a television series and it made Milton Friedman a household name. It went to be the best selling non-fiction book that year.

Friedman’s expertise was monetary and price theory and monetary history. Some of his contributions are Permanent Income Hypothesis, formulation of risk-aversion and risk-proclivity, theory of firm, and proposition for a positivist methodology in economics. In an address to the American Economic Association Friedman focused his attention on the Phillips Curve relationship in the 1970’s which was failing, he proposed replacing it with the Natural Rate of Unemployment Curve. In 1976 Friedman was recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize for his work in Economic Science. He also had the distinction of having been awarded the National Medal of Science and Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Milton Friedman dies on morning of November 16, 2006. He dies at the age of 94.

Biliography

MLA Format

Friedman, Milton. "Milton Friedman Autobiography." Nobel Prize. The Noble  Foundation, 2005. Web. 14 Mar. 2010.

Horeney, Michelle. "Milton Friedman, Noted Economist, Nobel Laureate, and Hoover
     Senior Research Fellow, Dies at 94." Editorial. Public Affairs. Hoover
     Inst., 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2010.      releases/4667846.html>.

"Milton Friedman." The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. 2008. Library of Economics and Liberty. 14 March 2010. .

Fonseca, Gonzalo F. "Milton Friedman." The History of Economic Thought. New
     School Coll, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. .

Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University. "Milton Friedman." Fellows. Hoover Inst., 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. .