Sir Arnold Plant (29 April 1898 – 19 April 1978) was a British economist.[3][4][5]


Arnold Plant
Born29 April 1898
Hoxton, London, England
Died19 April 1978(1978-04-19) (aged 79)
Spouse
Edith Render
(m. 1925)
Children2 sons
Academic career
InstitutionsLondon School of Economics
Other notable studentsRonald Coase
InfluencesDavid Hume[1]
Edwin Cannan[1]
F. A. Hayek[2]

Biography edit

Plant was born in Hoxton, London, the son of a municipal librarian, William Charles Plant, and Thomasine Emily Plant.[6][1] After attending Strand School, he worked for a mechanical engineering organisation. At the advice of William Piercy, he set out to learn about management. He obtained a BCom degree (1922) and a BSc degree in Economics (1923; specialising in modern economic history) from the London School of Economics.[1]

He worked as a professor at the University of Cape Town (1923–1930) and at the London School of Economics (1930–1965).[3]

Plant's 1934 paper on patents, "The Economic Theory Concerning Patents for Inventions",[7] is considered a classic.[8]

In 1947, he was knighted.[3][9] He died in 1978. His widow, Edith, Lady Plant, died a decade later.[10]

Published work (selection) edit

  • Plant, Arnold (February 1932). "Trends in Business Administration". Economica (35): 45–62. doi:10.2307/2548975. JSTOR 2548975.
  • Plant, Arnold (February 1934). "The Economic Theory Concerning Patents for Inventions". Economica. New Series. 1 (1): 30–51. doi:10.2307/2548573. JSTOR 2548573.
  • Plant, Arnold (May 1934). "The Economic Aspects of Copyright in Books". Economica. New Series. 1 (2): 167–195. doi:10.2307/2548748. JSTOR 2548748.
  • Plant, Arnold (May 1939). "An African Survey". Economica. New Series. 6 (22): 205–212. doi:10.2307/2548933. JSTOR 2548933.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Coase, Ronald (1995). "Arnold Plant". Essays on Economics and Economists. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 176–184. ISBN 0-226-11102-4 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ Plant, Arnold (January–February 1970). "A Tribute to Hayek - The Rational Persuader". Economic Age. 2 (2): 4–8.
  3. ^ a b c Yame, B. S. (1980). "Professor Sir Arnold Plant, 1898–1978". Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General). 143 (1): 92.
  4. ^ "Obituary: Sir Arnold Plant – Services in the field of economics". The Times. 21 April 1978. p. 20.
  5. ^ Cord, Robert A. (2019). "Arnold Plant (1898-1978)". In Cord, Robert A. (ed.). The Palgrave Companion to LSE Economics. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 329–346. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-58274-4.
  6. ^ 1911 England Census
  7. ^ Arnold Plant, "The Economic Theory Concerning Patents for Inventions", Economica: New Series, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Feb., 1934), pp. 30-51; reprinted in Arnold Plant, Selected Economic Essays and Addresses 35 (1974).
  8. ^ Blaug, Mark, ed. (1986). "PLANT, Arnold". Who's Who in Economics: A Biographical Dictionary of Major Economists 1700-1986 (2nd ed.). Wheatsheaf Books Limited. p. 687 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ Kitch, Edmund W. (October 1977). "The Nature and Function of the Patent System". Journal of Law and Economics. 20 (2): 265–290. doi:10.1086/466903. S2CID 52235846.
  10. ^ "Deaths: Lady Plant". The Times. 8 June 1988. p. 2.

External links edit