Douglass North Biography, Age, Weight, Height, Friend, Like, Affairs, Favourite, Birthdate & Other

Douglass North was an American economist who won a share of the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Best known for his work in economic history, he was of the belief that the way markets function in a country is linked to the strength or weakness of the nation’s institutions. While economists before him had studied the role of institutions in developing the economy of a country, North introduced a rigorous analysis to the study of institutional dynamics.

In recognition of his contributions to economics, he along with Ronald Coase is considered a co-founder of the New Institutional Economics school of thought. Born in Cambridge, he spent his early years living at different places due to the nature of his father’s job. Even though neither of his parents was highly educated, he credited his mother’s natural intelligence and curiosity as influential factors in developing his own intellect.

He went to the University of California from where he graduated with average grades. Strongly opposed to the World War II, he became a navigator in the Merchant Marine as he did not want to kill anyone. It was during his military career that he developed a deep interest in economics and eventually returned to UC Berkeley to pursue a PhD in economics.