Albert O. Hirschman, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Albert O. Hirschman

German-American economist; member of the French Resistance

Date of Birth: 07-Apr-1915

Place of Birth: Berlin

Date of Death: 10-Dec-2012

Profession: writer, economist, university teacher

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Albert Otto Hirschman (born Otto-Albert Hirschmann; April 7, 1915 – December 10, 2012) was an economist and the author of several books on political economy and political ideology.
His first major contribution was in the area of development economics.
Here he emphasized the need for unbalanced growth.
Because developing countries are short of decision making skills, he argued that disequilibria should be encouraged to stimulate growth and help mobilize resources.
Key to this was encouraging industries with many linkages to other firms. His later work was in political economy and there he advanced two schemata.
The first describes the three basic possible responses to decline in firms or polities (quitting, speaking up, staying quiet) in Exit, Voice, and Loyalty (1970).
The second describes the basic arguments made by conservatives (perversity, futility and jeopardy) in The Rhetoric of Reaction (1991). In World War II, he played a key role in rescuing refugees in occupied France.