Kenneth Sokoloff

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Kenneth Sokoloff

Born July 27, 1952
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died May 21, 2007
Los Angeles, California
Nationality USA
Fields Economist
Institutions UCLA
Alma mater University of Pennsylvania
Harvard University
Doctoral advisor Robert Fogel
Known for Economic history

Kenneth Lee Sokoloff (27 July 1952–21 May 2007) was an American economic historian who was broadly interested in the interaction between initial factor endowments, institutions, and economic growth.[1] In particular, he examined the influence of factor endowments on economic development in the New World[2][3] and the role of 19th century United States patent law in encouraging innovation.[4]

Contents

[edit] Career and Personal Life

Born in Philadelphia, Sokoloff graduated from the American School of Paris in 1970, earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1974 and his doctorate from Harvard University in 1982 where Robert Fogel served as his advisor.[1] He joined the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1980 where he spent the remainder of his career. He died of liver cancer in Los Angeles, California on May 21, 2007. [5]

[edit] Academic Work

In a series of influential papers coauthored with Stanley Engerman, Sokoloff studied the impact of countries' initial factor endowments on their later political and economic development. [1] While much of the contemporary literature explained different growth rates across countries by appealing to differences in national culture or religion, Sokoloff used historical data to claim that much of the differential growth experiences of the US colonies[2] and of New World countries[3] can be explained through differences in initial endowments of factors including human capital and levels of inequality. Moreover, Sokoloff and Engerman theorized that intitial levels of wealth and political power inequality led to the development of institutions that perpetuated these inequalities, furthering their delitarious impact on long run economic growth. [3]

Sokoloff and his coauthors also sought to understand the relationship between economic institutions and technological innovation. In particular, Sokoloff stressed the importance of US patent institutions in fostering innovation by entrepreneurs. For instance, with Zorina Khan, Sokoloff examined the careers of 160 “great inventors” credited with significant technological discoveries during the early American industrialization. In contrast to previous findings, Sokoloff and Khan found that these inventors were active entrepreneurs who responded systematically to market incentives. [4] On the other hand, Sokoloff, with Naomi Lamoreaux, found that over time the capital requirements associated with invention became prohibitively high, leading to firms taking over much of the innovative activity that was previously undertaken by individual entrepreneurs.[6]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c UCLA Center 2007
  2. ^ a b Engerman and Sokoloff 1994
  3. ^ a b c Engerman and Sokoloff 2002
  4. ^ a b Khan and Sokoloff 1993
  5. ^ Creswell 2007
  6. ^ Lamoreux and Sokoloff 2005

[edit] References

  • Creswell, Julie. Kenneth Sokoloff, 54, Economist, Is Dead. New York Times. May 24, 2007. Accessed May 1, 2008.
  • Engerman, Stanley and Sokoloff, Kenneth. 'Factor Endowments, Inequality, and Paths of Development Among New World Economies'. NBER Working Paper No. 9529. September 2002.
  • Engerman, Stanley and Sokoloff, Kenneth. 'Factor Endowments: Institutions and Differential Paths of Growth Among New World Economics: A View from Economic Historians of the United States.' NBER Historical Working Paper No. 66. November 1994.
  • Khan, Zorina and Sokoloff, Kenneth. ' 'Schemes of Practical Utility: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Among 'Great Inventors' in the United States, 1790-1865.' Journal of Economic History. vo. 53, no. 2, pp. 289-307. June 1993.
  • Lamoreaux, Naomi and Sokoloff, Kenneth. 'The Decline of the Individual Inventor: A Schumpeterian Story?'. NBER Working Paper No. 11654. September 2005.
  • UCLA Center for Economic History. 'Kenneth L. Sokoloff'. May 30, 2007. Accessed May 1, 2008.

[edit] External links

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