When was William Baumol born and where did he grow up?
William Jack Baumol was born on the 26th of February 1922 in the South Bronx. His parents Solomon and Lillian had both immigrated to America from Eastern Europe.
Questions about William Baumol
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What happened when William Baumol applied for doctoral studies at the London School of Economics?
Admissions officers initially offered him admission to a Master's program only after rejecting his application for doctoral studies. He demonstrated exceptional debating skills during Lionel Robbins' seminars which led the administration to switch his status to the doctoral program within weeks.
Who collaborated with William Baumol on the Baumol-Tobin model published in 1952?
James Tobin collaborated with William Baumol on transaction demand for money theory published in 1952. Their work explained why people hold cash balances despite interest-bearing alternatives available elsewhere.
Why does William Baumol argue that service sector wages rise faster than manufacturing productivity?
William Baumol identified cost disease as a persistent economic phenomenon affecting labor-intensive service industries globally. Manufacturing productivity grows rapidly through technological innovation while service sectors like education or healthcare cannot achieve similar output increases per worker easily.
When did William Baumol die and what major award did he never receive?
William Baumol died on the 4th of May 2017 without ever receiving the Nobel Prize though Thomson Reuters listed him as a potential recipient in 2014. The American Economic Association elected him president for the year 1981 and he received honorary doctorates from Stockholm School of Economics and Knox College among others.