2018 Articles

Working with a Great Public Intellectual: Remembering Tony Atkinson

Stiglitz, Joseph E.

It was with great sadness that on 1 January 2017, the world lost one of its greatest, and one of its kindest, economists – Anthony Barnes Atkinson. He was also one of the most devoted public intellectuals, giving his enormous talents and energies to creating a world with greater social justice – the motivating force behind his entering the economics profession. I first knew Tony in Cambridge in 1965-1966. He was in Churchill College with Frank Hahn, and I was a Fulbright Scholar finishing my PhD for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Frank arranged for me to do some tutorials for Tony. We quickly became friends and co-authors, working closely together as we each went from one side of the Atlantic to the other. I met Judith then too, whose warmth and intelligence provided a bond that was special. On my last visit to Oxford, a year ago, Judith, Tony, Anya (my wife) and I had a memorable walk through the woods and mud near their home, reminiscing over the years.