Julian Simon

For other people named Julian Simon, see Julian Simon (disambiguation).
Julian Simon
Born(1932-02-12)February 12, 1932
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedFebruary 8, 1998(1998-02-08) (aged 65)
Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationHarvard University (BA)
University of Chicago (MBA, PhD)
Known forSimon–Ehrlich wager
Notable workThe Ultimate Resource (1981)
Academic career
Field
InstitutionsUniversity of Illinois
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
University of Maryland
Cato Institute
School or
tradition		Chicago School of Economics

Julian Lincoln Simon (February 12, 1932 – February 8, 1998) was an American economist.[1] He was a professor of economics and business administration at the University of Illinois from 1963 to 1983 before later moving to the University of Maryland, where he taught for the remainder of his academic career.[2]

Simon wrote many books and articles, mostly on economic subjects, from an optimistic viewpoint.[3] He is best known for his work on population, natural resources, and immigration.[4][5] Simon is sometimes associated with cornucopian views and as a critic of Malthusianism.[6] Rather than focus on the abundance of nature, Simon focused on lasting economic benefits from continuous population growth, even despite limited or finite physical resources, primarily by the power of human ingenuity to create substitutes, and from technological progress.[citation needed]

He is also known for the famous Simon–Ehrlich wager, a bet he made with ecologist Paul R. Ehrlich.[7][8] Ehrlich bet that the prices for five metals would increase over a decade, while Simon took the opposite stance. Simon won the bet, as the prices for the metals sharply declined during that decade.[9][10]

  1. ^ Tierney, John (December 2, 1990). "Betting on the Planet". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Moore, Stephen (October 5, 2007). "Clear-Eyed Optimists". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "Last Words". The Washington Post. 1998-02-22. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  4. ^ "Obituary: Julian Simon". The Independent. 1998-03-13. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  5. ^ Moffett, George (1994-06-22). "The population question revisited". The Wilson Quarterly. 18 (3): 54–78.
  6. ^ Sastry, Anjali (2018-01-22). "Systems Lessons of the Global Problematique: Valuing Connection". Journal of Design and Science. MIT Press. doi:10.21428/97ff26fd.
  7. ^ Kestenbaum, David (January 2, 2014). "A Bet, Five Metals And The Future Of The Planet". NPR. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  8. ^ Tupy, Marian L. (January 12, 2023). "Why Is Paul Ehrlich So Hard to Ignore?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Sabin, Paul (2014-09-12). "Want to Bet?". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  10. ^ Carlin, Scott (March 3, 1998). "Simon's Solution to 'Bumping'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 5, 2024.