Kenneth Arrow

General-equilibrium and welfare theorist of impossibility, uncertainty, and learning-by-doing growth.

Specifications & Metrics

lifespan

1921-2017

nationality

American

school

Neoclassical

nobel year

1972

Core Principles & Analysis

• His impossibility theorem (1951) shows no preference-aggregation rule meets all fairness axioms.
• Arrow and Debreu (1954) proved the existence of competitive equilibrium.
• He shared the 1972 Nobel with John Hicks for general equilibrium and welfare economics.

Sources

• NobelPrize.org: Kenneth J. Arrow, Facts