Friedman, << FREED muhn, >> Milton (1912-2006), was an American economist whose controversial theories sparked widespread debate. He was awarded the 1976 Nobel Prize in economics.
Friedman argued against government intervention in the economy, claiming that the forces of a free market will efficiently solve most economic problems. He rejected the theories of John Maynard Keynes and his followers. Keynesian economists call for short-term changes in government spending to control the economy. Instead, Friedman urged a gradual, continuous increase in the money supply to promote economic growth. He set forth these theories in his book A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 (1963). Friedman and other economists who support such theories are called monetarists. In his book Capitalism and Freedom (1962), Friedman proposed a negative income tax. Under this plan, families with incomes below a certain level would receive cash payments from the government.
Friedman was born on July 31, 1912, in New York City and received a Ph.D. degree from Columbia University. He taught economics at the University of Chicago from 1946 to 1976. In 1977, he became a senior research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. Friedman died on Nov. 16, 2006.
