Andrew Shonfield

Summary

Sir Andrew Akiba Shonfield[1] (10 August 1917 – 23 January 1981)[2] was a British economist best known for writing Modern Capitalism (1966), a book that documented the rise of long-term planning in postwar Europe. Shonfield's argument that planning allows public authority to control and direct private enterprise without taking ownership of it as the socialists proposed have made him one of the better-known advocates of a mixed economy.

Andrew Shonfield
Born10 August 1917
Tadworth, Surrey, England
Died23 January 1981 (1981-01-24) (aged 63)
London, England
OccupationEconomist, writer
SubjectEconomics
Notable worksModern Capitalism
SpouseZuzanna Shonfield
ChildrenKatherine Shonfield

Shonfield also worked as a journalist. He was the foreign editor of The Financial Times from 1950 until 1958, then worked as The Observer's economic editor.

He was close to the Labour Party and served first as Director of Studies (1961–68) and then as Director (1972–77) of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, usually known as Chatham House. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Trade Unions and Employers' Associations (the Donovan Commission) which reported in 1968. He headed the Social Science Research Council (now ESRC) between 1969 and 1971. In 1972, he lectured on the consequences of Britain's entry in the European Community in the BBC's Reith Lectures.[3] During the final three years of his life he was Professor of Economics at the European University Institute in Florence. In 1970 he was elected a fellow of Imperial College London.[4] He was knighted in the 1978 New Year Honours.[1][5]

Publications edit

  • British Economic Policy since the War (1958)
  • The Attack on World Poverty (1960)
  • A Man Beside Himself (novel) (1964)
  • Modern Capitalism: The Changing Balance of Public and Private Power (1966)
  • Europe: Journey to an Unknown Destination (1972)
  • The Use of Public Power (1983 posthumous)
  • In Defence of the Mixed Economy (1984 posthumous, with Zuzanna Shonfield)

References edit

  1. ^ a b "No. 47418". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 30 December 1977. p. 2.
  2. ^ "Sir Andrew Shonfield, writer on economics, dies in London at 63". New York Times. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  3. ^ "Andrew Shonfield Europe: Journey to an Unknown Destination: 1972". BBC. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Honorary graduates, fellows and Imperial College medals". www.imperial.ac.uk. Imperial College London. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Shonfield, Sir Andrew". Thomson Gale. Archived from the original on 15 November 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2012 – via HighBeam.