J. Barkley Rosser Jr.

J. Barkley Rosser Jr.
Born(1948-04-12)April 12, 1948
Ithaca, New York, United States
DiedJanuary 10, 2023(2023-01-10) (aged 74)
NationalityAmerican
Academic career
FieldEconomics, Complexity
InstitutionJames Madison University (professor)
Alma materUW Madison, Wisconsin; USA
AwardsFellow of Economists for Peace and Security, Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia
Information at IDEAS / RePEc

John Barkley Rosser Jr. (April 12, 1948 - January 10, 2023) was a mathematical economist and Professor of Economics at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia since 1988. He was known for work in nonlinear economic dynamics,[1] including applications in economics of catastrophe theory,[2] chaos theory,[3] and complexity theory[4][5][6] (complex dynamics, complexity economics). With Marina V. Rosser he invented the concept of the "new traditional economy".[7] He introduced into economic discourse the concepts of chaotic bubbles,[8] chaotic hysteresis (op. cit., p. 326), and econochemistry.[9] He also invented the concepts of the megacorpstate[10] and hypercyclic morphogenesis.[11] He was the first to provide a mathematical model of the period of financial distress in a speculative bubble.[12] With Marina V. Rosser and Ehsan Ahmed, he was the first to argue for a two-way positive link between income inequality (economic inequality) and the size of an underground economy in a nation.[13] Rosser's equation has been used to forecast ratios of future Social Security benefits to current ones in real terms.[14]

  1. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr. “Complex Ecologic-Economic Dynamics and Environmental Policy.” Ecological Economics April 2001, 37(1), pp. 23–37.
  2. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr. “Reswitching as a Cusp Catastrophe.” Journal of Economic Theory October 1983, 31(1), pp. 182–193.
  3. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr. “Chaos Theory and the New Keynesian Economics.” The Manchester School of Economic and Social Studies September 1990, 58, pp. 265–291.
  4. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr. “Complex Ecologic-Economic Dynamics and Environmental Policy.” Ecological Economics April 2001, 37(1), pp. 23–37.
  5. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr. “On the Complexities of Complex Economic Dynamics.” Journal of Economic Perspectives Fall 1999, 13(4), pp. 169–192.
  6. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr., ed. Complexity in Economics: The International Library of Critical Writings in Economics 174, Vols. I–III. Aldergate, UK: Edward Elgar, 2004.
  7. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr. and Marina V. Rosser. Comparative Economics in a Transforming World Economy. Chicago: Irwin, 1996 (2nd edition, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2004).
  8. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr. “Complex Ecologic-Economic Dynamics and Environmental Policy.” Ecological Economics April 2001, 37(1), pp. 23–37.
  9. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr. “The Nature and Future of Econophysics.” In Arnab Chatterjee and Bikas K. Chakrabarti, eds. Econophysics of Stock and Other Markets. Milan: Springer, pp. 225–234, 2006.
  10. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr. “The Emergence of the Megacorpstate and the Acceleration of Global Inflation.” Journal of Post Keynesian Economics Spring 1981, 3(3), pp. 429–439.
  11. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr. “Complex Ecologic-Economic Dynamics and Environmental Policy.” Ecological Economics April 2001, 37(1), pp. 23–37.
  12. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr. “Complex Ecologic-Economic Dynamics and Environmental Policy.” Ecological Economics April 2001, 37(1), pp. 23–37.
  13. ^ J. Barkley Rosser Jr., Marina V. Rosser, and Ehsan Ahmed. “Income Inequality and the Informal Economy.” Journal of Comparative Economics March 2000, 28(1), pp. 156–171.
  14. ^ Rosser, J. Barkley Jr., 2005. “Student ignorance about Social Security,” available at http://cob.jmu.edu/rosserjb