Walter Isard
Walter Isard (April 19, 1919 – November 6, 2010) was a prominent American economist, the principal founder of the discipline of regional science, as well as one of the main founders of the discipline of peace studies and Peace economics.
Life and contributions
Born on April 19, 1919, in
In 1941–42, he studied at the University of Chicago, where his interest in mathematics was rekindled. Later, he was affiliated with the National Planning Resources Board, where he completed his Harvard Ph.D. dissertation in 1943. Subsequently, he served as a conscientious objector in the Civilian Public Service; during the night at the state mental hospital where he was assigned, he translated into English the works of the German location theorists, including Lösch, Weigmann, Engländer, and Predöhl.[1]
Now focusing primarily on location issues, Isard obtained a part-time teaching position at Harvard in 1945, and did some work on the location of the U.S. steel industry, as well as some work on the costs and benefits of atomic power.[2]
At Harvard, Isard became well acquainted with
In 1953 Isard moved to
In 1963 Isard assembled a group of scholars in Malmö, Sweden, for the purpose of establishing the Peace Research Society. In 1973, this group became the Peace Science Society. Like regional science, peace science was viewed as an interdisciplinary and international effort to develop a special set of concepts, techniques and data.
Isard died in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.[4]
Selected books
- Isard, Walter. 1952. Atomic Power, an Economic and Social Analysis; a Study in Industrial Location and Regional Economic Development. New York: Blakiston.
- Isard, Walter. 1956. Location and Space-economy; a General Theory Relating to Industrial Location, Market Areas, Land Use, Trade, and Urban Structure. Cambridge: Published jointly by the Technology Press of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wiley.
- Isard, Walter. 1957. Municipal Costs and Revenues Resulting from Community Growth. Wellesley, Mass: Chandler-Davis Publ. Co.
- Isard, Walter. 1959. Industrial Complex Analysis and Regional Development; a Case Study of Refinery-petrochemical-synthetic-fiber Complexes and Puerto Rico. Cambridge: Technology Press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Isard, Walter. 1960. Methods of Regional Analysis; an Introduction to Regional Science. Cambridge: Published jointly by the Technology Press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wiley, New York.
- Isard, Walter. 1969. General Theory: Social, Political, Economic, and Regional, with Particular Reference to Decision-making Analysis. Cambridge, Massachusetts: M.I.T. Press.
- Isard, Walter. 1971. Regional Input-output Study: Recollections, Reflections, and Diverse Notes on the Philadelphia Experience. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
- Isard, Walter. 1975. Introduction to Regional Science. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall.
- Isard, Walter. 1972. Ecologic-economic Analysis for Regional Development; Some Initial Explorations with Particular Reference to Recreational Resource Use and Environmental Planning. New York: Free Press.
- Peace Research Society (International). 1969. Vietnam: Some Basic Issues and Alternatives. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Schenkman Pub. Co.
Notes
References
- Boyce, David (2003). "A short history of the field of regional science" (PDF). Papers in Regional Science. 83 (1): 31–57. S2CID 146682576.
- Boyce, David; Miller, Ronald (2011). "In Memorian : Walter Isard (1919–2010)". Journal of Regional Science. 51 (1): 1–4. .