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Adapted from Joan Robinson, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for audio. This HearLore entry is also licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

— Ch. 1 · A Woman Without A Degree —

Joan Robinson.

~4 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
Joan Violet Maurice was born in Camberley, Surrey, on the 31st of October 1903. Her father Frederick Maurice had just returned from fighting in the Second Boer War when he married Margaret Helen Marsh at St George's, Hanover Square. The couple went on to have five children together before Joan entered Girton College, Cambridge. She completed her studies in 1925 but could not formally graduate. Cambridge University refused to grant degrees to women until 1948. This refusal meant she remained a student without a diploma for over two decades. Her marriage to economist Austin Robinson in 1926 changed her name to Joan Robinson. The couple moved to India shortly after their wedding. This time in India shaped her future research interests in developing economies.

The Cambridge School Shift

Robinson crossed swords with Marjorie Hollond over how economics should be taught at Girton College. Hollond believed new theories were unproven while Robinson wanted to teach them anyway. In 1937 she became a lecturer in economics at the University of Cambridge. She joined the British Academy in 1958 and was elected a fellow of Newnham College in 1962. By 1965 she assumed the position of full professor and fellow of Girton College. In 1979 she became the first female honorary fellow of King's College just four years before her death. As part of the Cambridge School she contributed to Keynes' General Theory. Her work focused on employment dynamics during the Great Depression between 1936 and 1937. During World War II she served on committees for the wartime national government. These experiences led her to visit both the Soviet Union and China.

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Keynesians1903 births1983 deaths20th-century British economists20th-century English historians20th-century English women writersAlumni of Girton College, CambridgeBritish women economistsFellows of Girton College, CambridgeFellows of King's College, CambridgeFellows of Newnham College, CambridgeFellows of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesFellows of the British AcademyHistorians of economic thoughtMacroeconomistsMembers of the American Philosophical SocietyPeople educated at St Paul's Girls' SchoolPeople from SurreyPost-Keynesian economists

Common questions

When was Joan Robinson born and where did she die?

Joan Violet Maurice was born in Camberley, Surrey on the 31st of October 1903. She died on the 5th of August 1983 after a final visit to India in January 1982.

What economic term did Joan Robinson introduce in her 1933 book The Economics of Imperfect Competition?

Joan Robinson introduced the term monopsony into economic vocabulary in her 1933 book The Economics of Imperfect Competition. This concept describes the buyer converse of a seller monopoly and applies to buyers of labour where an employer has wage setting power.

Why did Cambridge University refuse to grant degrees to women until 1948 affecting Joan Robinson's graduation?

Cambridge University refused to grant degrees to women until 1948 which meant Joan Robinson remained a student without a diploma for over two decades despite completing her studies in 1925. She eventually became a full professor and fellow of Girton College by 1965.

Which political figures did Joan Robinson praise during her visits to China and North Korea between 1964 and 1969?

Joan Robinson praised Kim Il Sung as a messiah rather than a dictator during her October 1964 visit to North Korea. She also wrote The Cultural Revolution in China in 1969 praising aspects of that movement while reporting observations in books like China: An Economic Perspective published in 1958.

Who are notable students of Joan Robinson who won the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences?

Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz both achieved the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences after working with Joan Robinson. These two students studied under her even though she never received a Nobel Prize for her contribution to economics.

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Monopsony And Market Power

In 1933 Robinson published The Economics of Imperfect Competition. This book introduced the term monopsony into economic vocabulary. Monopsony describes the buyer converse of a seller monopoly. It is commonly applied to buyers of labour where an employer has wage setting power. Such employers can exercise Pigouvian exploitation by paying workers less than their marginal productivity. Robinson used this concept to describe the wage gap between women and men workers of equal productivity. Her theory gained renewed attention decades later when the United States Supreme Court cited it in June 2019. Justice Brett Kavanaugh delivered the majority opinion stating Apple could be sued by application developers on a monopsony theory. This legal decision validated her theoretical framework nearly ninety years after its initial publication.

Visits To Communist States

Robinson made several trips to China reporting observations in books like China: An Economic Perspective published in 1958. She wrote The Cultural Revolution in China in 1969 praising aspects of that movement. In October 1964 she visited North Korea writing a report called Korean Miracle. She claimed the country's success was due to intense concentration on national pride under Kim Il Sung. She described him as a messiah rather than a dictator during that period. She stated the division of Korea must end with the South absorbed into socialism. Her fifth visit to China occurred in preparation for her book about the Cultural Revolution. During her last decade she became increasingly pessimistic about reforming economic theory. This outlook appeared clearly in her essay Spring Cleaning published near the end of her life.

The Capital Controversy

During the 1960s Robinson participated in the Cambridge capital controversy alongside Piero Sraffa. They developed growth theory together with Nicholas Kaldor. Her magnum opus The Accumulation of Capital extended Keynesianism into the long run when published in 1956. Essays in the Theory of Economic Growth followed in 1962 discussing Golden Age growth paths. She explored philosophical foundations of economic analysis in Economic Philosophy published in 1964. This work criticized traditional methodological approaches and argued for diverse interdisciplinary methods. She promoted practical historically informed approaches considering social and institutional environments. Between 1962 and 1980 she wrote many economics books for general public readers. These works suggested developing an alternative to the revival of classical economics.

The Nobel Prize Absence

Robinson never received a Nobel Prize for her contribution to economics despite wide anticipation. Rachel Reeves described her as the most famous economist not to be awarded the prize. Of all ninety-three recipients only ten winners have been cited more widely than Robinson. Many assumed the committee's oversight resulted from her outspoken support of Mao's policies in China. Others argue sexism within the awarding committee caused this exclusion instead. At least two students who studied under her won the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences. Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz both achieved this honor after working with Robinson. Stiglitz described their relationship as tumultuous noting she was unused to brash American questioning. Sen called her totally brilliant but vigorously intolerant in his own autobiographical notes.

Honors And Lasting Legacy

In April 2024 English Heritage erected a blue plaque in Kensington Gardens, London to honour Robinson. The organization described her as one of the first women to achieve academic prominence in economics. In 2016 the Council of the University of Cambridge approved using her name for a physical feature. This feature exists within the North West Cambridge Development area. The economics society of Girton College is named the Joan Robinson Society. She donated royalties from Selected Economic Writings and Introduction to Modern Economics to the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram, India. Her final visit to that centre occurred in January 1982 before her death on the 5th of August 1983. She remained active until the end participating in all activities including student seminars.