Armen Albert Alchian
USA- Early Life and Education
- Academic Career
- Honors and Recognition
- Intellectual Contributions
- Writing and Research
- Teaching and Mentorship
- Personal Life
Early Life and Education
Armen Alchian was born on April 12, 1914, in Fresno, California, to Armenian immigrants. He attended Fresno State College for two years before transferring to Stanford University in 1934. In 1936, he earned his bachelor's degree, and in 1944, he completed his Ph.D. with a dissertation on the effects of changes in general wage structure.
Academic Career
After spending 1940-41 at the National Bureau of Economic Research and Harvard University, Alchian became an instructor at the University of Oregon in 1942. From 1942 to 1946, he served as a statistician in the U.S. Air Force during World War II.
In 1946, Alchian joined the faculty of the Department of Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he spent the remainder of his career. Throughout his career, he maintained ties with the RAND Corporation.
Honors and Recognition
In 1996, Alchian was elected an honorary fellow of the American Economic Association. In 2000, he received the Adam Smith Award from the Association of Private Enterprise Education.
Intellectual Contributions
Armen Alchian was a prominent member of the Chicago school of economics and one of the leading microeconomists of the latter half of the 20th century. He made seminal contributions to the theory of information, uncertainty, and the firm. His work on property rights and transaction costs laid the foundation for new institutional economics.
Writing and Research
Alchian's writings were notable for their clarity, wit, and minimal use of mathematical formalism. He co-authored a groundbreaking textbook, "Exchange and Production," with William Allen, which introduced concepts such as information, transaction costs, and property rights into undergraduate economics.
Teaching and Mentorship
Alchian was an influential teacher who mentored many talented students, including William F. Sharpe, who received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1990.
Personal Life
Alchian was an avid golfer and an early adopter of computers. He was one of the first UCLA professors to have a computer in his office and used email extensively.
