Wilfred Beckerman Explained

Birth Date:	19 May 1925
Birth Place:	London, United Kingdom
Spouse:	Nicole Ritter (1952-1979) Joanna Pasek (1991)
Education:	Trinity College, Cambridge (PhD, 1950)
Years Active:	1964 - 2020
Known For:	Contributions to economics, specifically environmental economics

Wilfred Beckerman (19 May 1925 - 18 April 2020) was an English economist, professor, and author. Beckerman received his PhD from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1950, and served as a fellow and tutor of Balliol College from 1964 until his departure to University College London in 1969. Beckerman served at UCL until 1975, in which he returned to Balliol. Beckerman served as a tutor, and later an Emeritus Fellow at the college, until his death in 2020.

As well as serving in his capacity at the two universities, Beckerman also authored and edited numerous books, primarily focused on environmental economics, with a left-wing political stance.

Early life and education

Wilfred Beckerman was born 19 May 1925, in London to Moishe and Mathilda Beckerman, poor Jewish immigrants from Poland a Ukraine. He was the second youngest of six children.^[1]

At age 15, he dropped out of school to support the family, though he spent a term studying at the London School of Economics. At 18, he joined the Royal Navy; following World War II, he became eligible to receive free post-secondary education, eventually registering at Trinity College, Cambridge.^[2] He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in 1950.

Career

Beckerman began his career lecturing at the University of Nottingham, though in 1952, he began working with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), eventually becoming head of division.

From 1964 to 1969, Beckerman was a fellow and tutor in economics at Balliol College, Oxford. For a short time in 1967, he also served as an economic advisor to President of the Board of Trade, Anthony Crosland.^[3] In 1969, Beckerman transferred to University College London (UCL), serving as a professor and head of the political economy department.^[4] During his tenure at UCL, Beckerman became an advisor for the initial Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. In 1975, he returned to his former position at Balliol College, where he remained until being named an Emeritus Fellow, a position he held until his death in 2020.

Personal life

In 1952, Beckerman married Nicole Ritter, who was raised Roman Catholic. The couple had three children: Stephen, Sophia, and Deborah. Ritter died from breast cancer in 1979.

In 1991, Beckerman married Joanna Pasek, becoming a step-father to her daughter, Agnieszka. The couple also had a daughter, Beatrice.

Beckerman died April 18, 2020.

Publications

As author

• Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . An Introduction to National Income Analysis . 1968 . Weidenfeld & Nicolson . 978-0-297-76154-9 . London.
• Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . In Defence of Economic Growth . 1974 . Jonathan Cape . 978-0-224-00930-0 . London. ^{[5] [6]}
• Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . Pricing for Pollution: an analysis of market pricing and government regulation in environment consumption and policy . 1975 . Inst. of Economic Affairs . 978-0-255-36077-7 . Hobart papers . London. ^[7]
• Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . Two Cheers for the Affluent Society: A Spirited Defense of Economic Growth . 1975 . St. Martin's Press . 978-0-312-82600-0. ^[8]
• Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . Measures of Leisure, Equality and Welfare . 1978 . OECD . Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development . 978-92-64-11766-2 . Paris. ^[9]
• Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . Growth, the Environment and the Distribution of Incomes: Essays by a Sceptical Optimist . 1995 . Elgar . 978-1-85898-262-5 . Economists of the twentieth century . Aldershot. ^[10]
• Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . Small Is Stupid: Blowing the Whistle on the Greens . 1995 . Duckworth . 978-0-7156-2640-5 . London. ^[11]
• Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . Through Green Colored Glasses: Environmentalism Reconsidered . 1996 . Cato Institute . 978-1-882577-35-4 . Washington, D.C. ^[12]
• Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . A Poverty of Reason: Sustainable Development and Economic Growth . 2003 . Independent Institute . 978-0-945999-85-0 . Oakland, Calif. ^[13]
• Book: Beckerman . Wilfred . Justice, Posterity, and the Environment . Pasek . Joanna . 2004 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-924508-6 . Oxford. ^[14]
• Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . 2011 . Palgrave Macmillan . 978-0-230-27836-3 . Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York . 650213790. ^[15]
  • Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . Economics as Applied Ethics: Fact and Value in Economic Policy . 2017 . Springer Berlin Heidelberg . 978-3-319-50318-9 . 2nd . New York, NY.

As editor

• Book: The Labour Government's Economic Record: 1964-1970 . 1972 . Duckworth . 978-0-7156-0608-7 . Beckerman . Wilfred . London. ^[16]
• Book: Slow Growth in Britain: Causes and Consequence . 1979 . Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-828420-8 . Beckerman . Wilfred . Oxford : New York . ^[17]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020-06-02 . Professor Wilfred Beckerman obituary . 2024-08-31 . . en.
2. News: Beckerman . Debbie . 2020-04-26 . Wilfred Beckerman obituary . 2024-08-31 . . en-GB . 0261-3077 . 1 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901014634/https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/apr/26/wilfred-beckerman-obituary . live .
3. Web site: 2020-04-20 . Remembering Professor Wilfred Beckerman . 2024-08-31 . UCL Department of Economics . en . 29 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240729214832/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/economics/news/2020/apr/remembering-professor-wilfred-beckerman . live .
4. Web site: Professor Wilfred Beckerman 1925-2020 . 2024-08-31 . . en.
5. Lydall . Harold . March 1975 . In Defence of Economic Growth. . The Economic Journal . 85 . 337 . 186 . 10.2307/2230546 . 2230546 . 1 September 2024 . 1 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901014632/https://academic.oup.com/ej/article-abstract/85/337/186/5219283?redirectedFrom=fulltext . live .
6. Book: Beckerman, Wilfred . In defence of economic growth . 1976 . London : Cape . Internet Archive . 978-0-224-01223-2.
7. Jackson . Tim . January 1992 . Pricing for pollution: Market pricing, government regulation, environmental policy . Energy Policy . en . 20 . 1 . 84–86 . 10.1016/0301-4215(92)90153-S . 1 September 2024 . 14 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180614202536/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/030142159290153S . live .
8. March 1976 . Baldwin . C. Stephen . Viederman . Stephen . Two Cheers for the Affluent Society: A Spirited Defense of Economic Growth. . Population and Development Review . 2 . 1 . 137 . 10.2307/1971536. 1971536. 2027/mdp.39015003650002 . free .
9. June 1979 . SHORT REVIEWS . Social Policy & Administration . en . 13 . 2 . 165 . 10.1111/j.1467-9515.1979.tb00654.x . 0144-5596 . 1 September 2024 . 1 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901014635/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9515.1979.tb00654.x . live .
10. Beckerman . Wilfred . 1980 . Review of Growth, Population, and Income Distribution: Selected Essays. . Journal of Economic Literature . 18 . 4 . 1623–1626 . 2724108 . 0022-0515.
11. Brecher . Bob . July–August 1996 . Wilfred Beckerman, Small is Stupid: Blowing the Whistle on the Greens, Duckworth, London, 1995. viii + 202 pp., £20.00 hb., 0 715 62640 x. . Radical Philosophy . 78 . 48–49 . 1 September 2024 . 23 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240423151351/https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/reviews/78-reviews . live .
12. Hambrick . Ralph S. . Clancy . Tom . McNeil . J. R. . Shabecoff . Philip . Beckerman . Wilfred . Simon . Julian . Anderson . Terry L. . March 2001 . Environmental Policy: Where Science and Ideology Meet . Public Performance & Management Review . 24 . 3 . 294 . 10.2307/3381092. 3381092 .
13. Watkins . Francis . June 2006 . Beckerman Wilfred. 2002. A poverty of reason. Sustainable development and economic growth. Oakland, CA: The Independent Institute. xiv + 95 pp. Pb.: $17.95. ISBN: 0 945999 85 2 . Social Anthropology . en . 14 . 2 . 275 . 10.1017/S0964028206232488 . 0964-0282.
14. Gosseries . Axel . January 2003 . Book ReviewsWilfred, Beckerman, and Joanna Pasek, . Justice, Posterity and the Environment .Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Pp. 217. $24.95 (paper). . Ethics . en . 113 . 2 . 391–393 . 10.1086/343005 . 0014-1704 . 1 September 2024 . 1 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901014638/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/343005 . live .
15. Kay . John . October 2012 . Economics as Applied Ethics: Value Judgements in Welfare Economics, by Wilfred Beckerman (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), 240 pages . Business Ethics Quarterly . en . 22 . 4 . 778–781 . 10.5840/beq201222449 . 1052-150X . 1 September 2024 . 1 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901015138/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-ethics-quarterly/article/abs/economics-as-applied-ethics-value-judgements-in-welfare-economics-by-wilfred-beckerman-london-palgrave-macmillan-2011-240-pages/46FCD4917ED3809F9DA94FF4813CFAEB . live .
16. Blackaby . F. T. . Beckerman . Wilfred . December 1972 . The Labour Government's Economic Record 1964-1970. . The Economic Journal . 82 . 328 . 1442 . 10.2307/2231339 . 2231339 . 1 September 2024 . 1 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901015147/https://academic.oup.com/ej/article-abstract/82/328/1442/5233761?redirectedFrom=fulltext . live .
17. Dalgaard . Bruce R. . 1982 . Review of Slow Growth in Britain: Causes and Consequences . The Business History Review . 56 . 3 . 479–480 . 10.2307/3114671 . 3114671 . 0007-6805.