Fieldwork-based development economists shaped MPS ranks and conservative policy

Evidence

Peter T. Bauer (1915–2002) arguably was the most prominent development economist in the ranks of the MPS. Born in Hungary, Bauer came to Cambridge in the UK to study economics in the 1930s. On the basis of his fieldwork in Africa and Southeast Asia, he rejected the “dual economics” (Hirschman) perspective, and he vigorously opposed national planning and foreign aid. Bauer mainly taught at LSE until his death in 2002. Margaret Thatcher awarded Bauer the lordship in 1983 (on a recommendation by Bauer’s fellow MPS member Sir Alan Walters (http://politics.guardian.co.uk/politicsobituaries/story/0,1441,710597,00.html). Between 1951 and 1990, Bauer contributed to nine MPS meetings (contributing eight papers and chairing a panel). Bauer eventually received the first Milton Friedman Prize of the CATO Institute, worth half a million U.S. dollars (www.cato.org/special/friedman/bauer/index.html, accessed April 10, 2005). — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1362

Categorization

• XREF: Bauer as the development-economics bridge between MPS, Thatcherism (lordship 1983) and the Chicago/Cato orbit connects to later works on the neoliberal political network. — connects to: Fannie Mae commissioned economists across the political spectrum as lobbying ammunition — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 2264; The MPS constituted an early intellectual network of development economics — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1289; Peter Bauer reframed development economics to prioritize markets over security concerns — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1334 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• The neoliberal development agenda’s ideas predate its political victories #expands (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1751
• Neoliberal development economics emerged parallel to, not after, mainstream development theory #corroborates (0.82) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 1269