August Lösch
August Lösch | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 30 May 1945 | (aged 38)
Nationality | German |
Academic career | |
Institution | Kiel Institute for the World Economy |
Field | Regional science Urban economics |
Alma mater | University of Bonn University of Freiburg |
August Lösch (15 October 1906 – 30 May 1945) was a German economist, known for his seminal contributions to regional science and urban economics.
Born in Öhringen, Württemberg, Lösch obtained his doctorate from the University of Bonn in 1932. His magnum opus, Die räumliche Ordnung der Wirtschaft (The economics of location), appeared in 1940.
Lösch was a member of the "Confessing Church" (
Biography
Lösch was born in Öhringen, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire (now Baden-Württemberg, Germany). From 1908, he lived in Heidenheim, where he graduated from high school in 1925 and subsequently worked as an apprentice. From 1927—1930, Lösch studied at the University of Tübingen and at the University of Freiburg. Then from 1930 to 1931, he studied at the University of Bonn, where he was taught by Joseph Schumpeter, Walter Eucken, and Arthur Spiethoff. He earned a degree in economics from the University of Freiburg in 1931, and then a doctorate one year later from the University of Bonn.[2]
Lösch studied demography and examined natural population growth in relation to its impact on labor supply and regional economic growth. This work then inspired Lösch to study the theory of production location. Lösch's work gained traction and global attention, earning him a Rockefeller scholarship. He visited the United States twice, in 1934 and 1936, where he studied the theories of the location of production and collected materials for his own research.[3]
Lösch then worked at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy as a senior researcher between 1939—1945. While at the institute in 1940, Lösch published “Spatial Organization of the Economy” which received interest from the scientific community. The institute was evacuated from Kiel to Ratzeburg in October 1944 due to wartime conditions. During wartime, Lösch’s health declined until he died of scarlet fever on May 30, 1945.[4]
Personal life
Lösch has been described as a creative yet stubborn by those who knew him. Although Lösch was born in Öhringen, he spent the majority of his childhood and later life in
In regard to his political and religious stance, Lösch was a part of the "
When World War Two began, he resisted to emigrate, leaving him with the only choice: to go into hiding in Ratzeburg, to continue his research anti-nazi work. When the war ended, Germany was left destroyed, which made it impossible for him to return home to his wife and family in Heidenheim. Since he was unable to return home, he remained in the poor living conditions in Ratzeburg where he continued his economic research. Unfortunately, the end of his life was devastating; due to his impoverished state and weak health, he caught the scarlet fever infection and passed away shortly after without any of his loved ones or friends by his side. His personal life indeed shows his undying motivation, creativity, passion and loyalty towards his promise to further scientific discoveries and fundamental theory. Regrettably, Lösch was never granted the recognition he deserved for his research because of his resistance against Nazi Germany, however, his work has helped with preceding economic research.[5]
Contributions to regional and urban economics
August Lösch is recognized as an early innovator in the subject of the New Economic Geography, known for his great contributions to regional and
Lösch's scientific writings focused on issues of the economic consequences of
Overall, Lösch made a plenitude of significant findings in the world of economics, but his main contributions were to regional economics, specifically, pioneering the location theory, spatial equilibrium analysis and hierarchical spatial systems displaying a hexagonal pattern.[5]
References
- ^ "Transcript of Interview of Hans W. Singer by Richard Jolly, Sussex, 2 January 2000," United Nations Intellectual History Project, p. 40.
- ^ Edwin von Böventer (1987), "Lösch, August", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 15, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 59–60; (full text online)
- ISBN 9781412914321.
- ISBN 9785998999581
- ^ a b c d e Batey, Peter W. J. Great Minds in Regional Science. Vol. 1, Springer, 2020.
- ^ a b Nijkamp, Peter. “August Lösch (1906–1945): Moral Sentiments, Scholarly Rigor.” SpringerLink, Springer, Cham, 1 Jan. 1970, link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-46157-7_6.
- )
- ^ “August Lösch - In Memoriam.” Institut Für Regionalforschung, www.re2.uni-kiel.de/en/alp/august-losch-in-memoriam.
- ^ “." Encyclopedia of Population. . Encyclopedia.com. 16 Oct. 2020 .” Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, 6 Dec. 2020, www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/losch-august.
Bibliography
- Lösch, August (1930). "Eine Auseinandersetzung über das Transferproblem". Schmollers Jahrbuch für Gesetzgebung, Verwaltung und Volkswirtschaft im Deutschen Reiche. 54 (6): 1093–1106.
- Lösch, August (1940). Die räumliche Ordnung der Wirtschaft: Eine Untersuchung über Standort, Wirtschaftsgebiete und internationalen Handel. Jena: Gustav Fischer Verlag. OCLC 611787688.
- Lösch, August (1954). The economics of location. New Haven: Yale University Press. OCLC 876506870.
External links
- Newspaper clippings about August Lösch in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
- august-loesch.org – August Lösch Online-Archive