Harry Gunnison Brown An Orthodox Economist and His Contributions

Harry Gunnison Brown was born in 1880 and died in 1975. He was part of a important group of American economists that included Herbert J. Davenport, E.R.A. Seligman, J. B. Clark, Alvin S. Johnson, Frank A. Fetter, Richard T. Ely and Frank Knight. In some ways Brown represented an orthodoxy in economics that was slipping away as neoclassical economics assumed a particular shape. For example, Brown argued for the separate influences of both land and capital goods on the pricing of goods and services and did not follow the trend in "orthodox" circles of considering land just another form of capital. Brown supported land value taxation at a time when the leading economists of his day rejected Henry George's ideas and the possibility of Georgist economics. Ryan summarizes Brown's theoretical insights and the intellectual contexts in which they were developed. This monograph is an important and useful contribution to current efforts underway to appreciate the historical development of economics in the 20th century. Explores the work of Harry Gunnison Brown, one the most important innovators in American economic history. Summarizes Brown's theoretical insights as well as the intellectual contexts in which they were developed.

Dr. Christopher K. Ryan has taught economics at Babson College and the University of Northern Iowa. He is the author of "Harry Gunnison Brown's Advocacy: The Case He Made for Land Value Taxation, 1917-1975" in The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 56 (Octrober 1997): 545-564; and with coauthor, Helen B. Ryan, "George Raymond Geiger (1903-1998): A Rich Life" in The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 58 (January 1999): 7 - 16. In addition to this interest in Harry Gunnison Brown, he is an experienced translator of Spanish writings into English, especially the historical essays of Marjorie Grice-Hutchinson.

Laurence S. Moss now serves as editor of The American Journal of Economics and Sociology. He is a Professor of Economics at Babson College and has served as the President of the History of Economics Society. He is also a well-known historian of economic thought. Moss is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and now serves on the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.