Picture this. A building named in honor of a man who Premier Forgan Smith thought highly of. That man was Colin Clark. He was quite the economist.
The Colin Clark Building stands as a testament to his contributions. It is located at the University of Queensland. Level six of this building houses the School of Economics.
Colin Clark was born in London in 1905. He died in Brisbane in 1989. Clark was both a British and Australian economist. He also worked as a statistician. He worked in both the United Kingdom and Australia. Clark was a pioneer. He used gross national product as a basis. He used it for studying national economies.
Clark attended the Dragon School in Oxford. He also went to Winchester College. Later, he attended Brasenose College, Oxford. He graduated in chemistry in 1928. After graduating, he worked as a research assistant. He worked with William Beveridge at the London School of Economics from 1928 to 1929. He then worked with Sir Alexander Carr-Saunders and Allyn Young. This work took place at the University of Liverpool from 1929 to 1930.
In 1930, Clark was appointed. He became a research assistant. This was for the National Economic Advisory Council. Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald newly convened it. He resigned soon after his appointment. He was asked to write a background memorandum. It was to make a case for protectionism. Despite this, he impressed John Maynard Keynes. Keynes secured him an appointment. Clark became a lecturer in statistics at Cambridge University.
He lectured in statistics at Cambridge from 1931 to 1938. There, he completed three books. One was “The National Income 1924–31” in 1932. Another was “The Economic Position of Great Britain.” He wrote it jointly with A. C. Pigou in 1936. The third was “National Income and Outlay” in 1937. Keynes recommended his first book to the publisher Daniel Macmillan. Keynes thought Clark was a genius. He said Clark was the only economic statistician he had ever met. Keynes felt that Clark was quite first-class.
During a visit to Australia and New Zealand, he accepted a position. The Queensland Government extended the invitation. Premier Forgan Smith invited him. He wrote to Keynes about his decision. He felt advising the Queensland Premier was a remarkable opportunity. He could put economics into practice.
In May 1938, he was appointed to several roles. He became Government Statistician. He also became Director of the Bureau of Industry. Plus, he was Financial Advisor to the Queensland Treasury. In 1940, he provided the State’s first set of economic accounts. He also held a position. It was Deputy Director for Queensland. This was for the Commonwealth Department of War Organisation of Industry. He held it from 1942 to 1946. Clark resigned as Government Statistician in February 1947. He became Under Secretary of the Queensland Department of Labour and Industry.
Unusually, he continued his academic work. He published numerous articles. He also prepared his book “Conditions of Economic Progress”. It was published in 1940.
In 1951, he took a secondment. This was to the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. Then, he went to the University of Chicago in 1952. He then directed the Agricultural Economics Research Institute at Oxford University. He held this position from 1952 to 1969. In 1969, he returned to Australia. He became Director of the Institute of Economic Progress at Monash University. He held this position from 1969 to 1978. Finally, he was a Research Consultant. He consulted for the Department of Economics at the University of Queensland. He worked there until his death in 1989.
Today, the Colin Clark Building stands. It honors a man who significantly impacted economics. Remember Colin Clark as you pass by this building. He left a lasting legacy. It continues to influence economic thought and practice.