Professor János Kornai (January 21, 1928, Budapest, Hungary) started his career as a journalist. He was only 21 when he became managing editor of a central newspaper of the communist party. From being a convinced Marxist-Leninist and a genuine believer in socialism, he gradually became disenchanted with communism and turned into a vocal critic. Overcentralization (1957), his PhD dissertation thesis, is the first book written behind the Iron Curtain by a citizen of a communist country criticizing the system from the inside. In 1964 Kornai left Hungary and began a career that would advance rapidly. His monograph as a “western economist”, AntiEquilibrium (1971), distinguished him among the professionals as a non-orthodox economist, as he still regards himself to be. Kornai first met Tibor Scitovsky (November, 3, 1910, Budapest, Hungary – June, 1, 2002, Palo Alto, CA) in 1970, at Yale University. From that time onwards the two Hungarian economists met regularly, at Yale first, then at Stanford and worldwide on many other informal occasions. After the fall of the Iron Curtain they also met regularly in Budapest. Thiers was a long-standing friendship that preserved intact for decades till Scitovsky’s death, in 2002. János Kornai is Professor of Economics Emeritus at Harvard University and Corvinus University (Budapest). The interview took place in Kornai’s office in Budapest in July 2011.

DI GIOVINAZZO, V. (2012). Memories of a long-standing friendship. János Kornai Reports on Tibor Scitovsky. HISTORY OF ECONOMIC IDEAS, 3(20), 141-152.

Memories of a long-standing friendship. János Kornai Reports on Tibor Scitovsky

DI GIOVINAZZO, VIVIANA
Primo
2012

Abstract

Professor János Kornai (January 21, 1928, Budapest, Hungary) started his career as a journalist. He was only 21 when he became managing editor of a central newspaper of the communist party. From being a convinced Marxist-Leninist and a genuine believer in socialism, he gradually became disenchanted with communism and turned into a vocal critic. Overcentralization (1957), his PhD dissertation thesis, is the first book written behind the Iron Curtain by a citizen of a communist country criticizing the system from the inside. In 1964 Kornai left Hungary and began a career that would advance rapidly. His monograph as a “western economist”, AntiEquilibrium (1971), distinguished him among the professionals as a non-orthodox economist, as he still regards himself to be. Kornai first met Tibor Scitovsky (November, 3, 1910, Budapest, Hungary – June, 1, 2002, Palo Alto, CA) in 1970, at Yale University. From that time onwards the two Hungarian economists met regularly, at Yale first, then at Stanford and worldwide on many other informal occasions. After the fall of the Iron Curtain they also met regularly in Budapest. Thiers was a long-standing friendship that preserved intact for decades till Scitovsky’s death, in 2002. János Kornai is Professor of Economics Emeritus at Harvard University and Corvinus University (Budapest). The interview took place in Kornai’s office in Budapest in July 2011.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Tibor Scitovsky, Market asymmetries, Prices theory, The Joyless Economy, Economic methodology, Behavioral Economics
English
2012
3
20
141
152
none
DI GIOVINAZZO, V. (2012). Memories of a long-standing friendship. János Kornai Reports on Tibor Scitovsky. HISTORY OF ECONOMIC IDEAS, 3(20), 141-152.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/62178
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