CHAPTER 18 INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 427 TITANS OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: RAUL PREBISCH (1901-1986) AND HANS WOLFGANG SINGER (1910-2006) Raul Prebisch was born on April 17, 1901, in Tucaman, Keynesian economics at Cambridge. He served as assistant Argentina. When he graduated with an economics degree in lecturer in economics at Manchester University from 1938 1923 from the University of Buenos Aires, he had already to 1945, as economics research officer in the U.K. Ministry written nine professional journal articles, the first having of Town and Country Planning in 1945-1946, and as lec- appeared when he was 17. He was professor of political turer in political economy at Glasgow University in economy at his alma mater from 1925 to 1948, also serving 1946-1947. He then undertook a U.N. career, building and simultaneously as director of economic research for the serving in the Economics Department of the U.N. Secre- National Bank of Argentina (1927-1930) and undersecre- tariat. He became professor of economics at the University tary of finance for Argentina (1930-1932), among other of Sussex and its Institute of Development Studies in 1969 posts. He then embarked upon a career with the United and remained on the institute's research team long after his Nations, serving as executive secretary of the U.N.'s Eco- "official" retirement. nomic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) from 1948 to Professor Singer's early concern was with unemploy- 1962 and as secretary-general of the United Nations Confer- ment, and he published Unemployment and the Unemployed ence on Trade and Development (UNCTAD, an organization in 1940. He then worked on problems of wartime planning. based in Geneva) from 1964 to 1969. He subsequently He subsequently turned to the area of economic develop- became director-general of the U.N.'s Latin American Insti- ment and made many contributions, including Economic tute for Economic and Social Planning. Development of Under-Developed Countries (1950), Dr. Prebisch wrote several influential studies, with par- International Development, Growth and Change (1964), ticularly noteworthy ones being "Commercial Policy in the and Technologies for Basic Needs (1977). Another work Underdeveloped Countries" (American Economic Review, used in higher education was his text Rich and Poor May 1959), The Economic Development of Latin America Countries (with Javed A. Ansari, 4th ed., 1988). His most and Its Principal Problems (1949), and Towards a New famous article is "The Distribution of Gains between Invest- Trade Policy for Development. Report of the Secretary-General ing and Borrowing Countries" (American Economic Review, of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Develop- May 1950) ment (1964). His thesis of the secular deterioration of the Professor Singer's work was of broad scope, extending terms of trade of LDCs is his most widely cited contribution, beyond the terms-of-trade issue to the structure of the world but he was concerned with problems of industrialization of economy, basic needs, food aid, and technology transfer. He the LDCs throughout his career. He appears to have first took the lead in spreading knowledge of Third World prob- crystallized the notion of a "center-periphery" in the world lems worldwide. His ideas and efforts served as constant economy, whereby systematic forces emanating from the reminders that there is no "quick fix" to LDC problems and center (the ICs) cause great difficulties for the periphery (the that development should be approached from the perspective LDCs). His ability to articulate his views at the international of possible actions in ICs as well as in LDCs. In November agency level has ensured that they have been and will be 2004, Singer was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement long-lasting. Award from the Development Studies Association. Raul Prebisch was awarded several honorary degrees, including degrees from Columbia University and the Uni- Sources: Mark Blaug, ed., Who's Who in Economics: A Biographi versidad de los Andes (Colombia). He also received the cal Dictionary of Major Economists 1700-1986, 2nd ed. (Cam- bridge, MA: MIT Press, 1986), pp. 696-97, 788 89; Luis E. Di Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in Marco, ed., International Economics and Development: Essays in 1974, the Dag Hammarskjold Honorary Medal of the Ger- Honor of Raul Prebisch (New York: Academic Press, 1972), pp. man U.N. Association in 1977, and the Third World Prize of xvii-xix; Gerald M. Meier and Dudley Seers, eds., Pioneers in the Third World Foundation in 1981. Development (New York: Oxford University Press for the World Bank, 1984), pp. 173, 273-74; J. G. Palma, "Raul Prebisch," in John Hans W. Singer was born in 1910 in Elberfeld (now Eatwell, Murray Milgate, and Peter Newman, eds., The New Pal- Wuppertal), Rhineland, Germany. He earned his diploma in grave: A Dictionary of Economics, Vol. 3 (London: Macmillan, political science from Bonn University in 1931. He 1987), pp. 934-36; Who's Who in the World, Ist ed., 1971-1972 received his Ph.D. in economics from Cambridge Univer- (Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1970), p. 746; Who's Who in the sity in 1936, doing his work during the formative years of World, 10th ed., 1991-1992 (Wilmette, IL: Marquis Who's Who, 1990), p. 1004; www.ids.ac.uk/ids