ECONOMIST

Douglass North

1920 - 2015

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Douglass Cecil North (November 5, 1920 – November 23, 2015) was an American economist known for his work in economic history. Along with Robert Fogel, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1993. In the words of the Nobel Committee, North and Fogel "renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods in order to explain economic and institutional change." North was an influential figure in New Institutional Economics, which emphasizes the impact of institutions on economic behaviors and outcomes. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Douglass North has received more than 447,754 page views. His biography is available in 48 different languages on Wikipedia. Douglass North is the 56th most popular economist (down from 48th in 2019), the 791st most popular biography from United States (down from 658th in 2019) and the 12th most popular American Economist.

Douglass North is most famous for his work on the theory of institutions and economic development. He argues that institutions are the key to understanding why some countries are rich and others are poor.

Memorability Metrics

  • 450k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 64.06

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 48

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 10.21

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.84

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among ECONOMISTS

Among economists, Douglass North ranks 56 out of 414. Before him are John Hicks, Thorstein Veblen, Tansu Çiller, Werner Sombart, Bertil Ohlin, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn. After him are Johann Heinrich von Thünen, Benjamin Graham, Wang Anshi, Theodore Schultz, Oliver E. Williamson, and Irving Fisher.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1920, Douglass North ranks 34. Before him are François Jacob, Zecharia Sitchin, Fritz Walter, Clarice Lispector, Montgomery Clift, and Walter Matthau. After him are Sergei Bondarchuk, John Demjanjuk, Alberto Sordi, Ravi Shankar, Sun Myung Moon, and Gunnar Gren. Among people deceased in 2015, Douglass North ranks 36. Before him are Charles H. Townes, Zito, Eduardo Galeano, Maya Plisetskaya, Manoel de Oliveira, and Oliver Sacks. After him are Boris Nemtsov, Yoichiro Nambu, Alcides Ghiggia, Wes Craven, Yevgeny Primakov, and Günter Schabowski.

Others Born in 1920

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Others Deceased in 2015

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Douglass North ranks 791 out of 20,380. Before him are Dalton Trumbo (1905), Judith Butler (1956), Antony Blinken (1962), Mark Hamill (1951), Marvin Gaye (1939), and Bill Russell (1934). After him are Frederick Chapman Robbins (1916), William Alfred Fowler (1911), George Eastman (1854), John Goodman (1952), William Saroyan (1908), and Leo Frank (1884).

Others born in United States

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Among ECONOMISTS In United States

Among economists born in United States, Douglass North ranks 12. Before him are Elinor Ostrom (1933), Robert Solow (1924), Paul Krugman (1953), Gary Becker (1930), Murray Rothbard (1926), and Thorstein Veblen (1857). After him are Theodore Schultz (1902), Oliver E. Williamson (1932), Irving Fisher (1867), Ben Bernanke (1953), Kenneth Arrow (1921), and Harry Markowitz (1927).

American born Economists

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